Paper crafting... ocbrandy style!

Boy have I been dragging today! Crashing hard from staying up way to late last night and then woke up way to early today! I am pleased to say I finished up some albums that have been taking me forever to finish up! Four of them to be exact :) This was the second album made with this Karen Foster paper. Since Mother's Day I've needed to get this thing done! Yeah today is the day :) Orinially it was intended for my mother, but I just couldn't pull it together! This next album was made with some paper that was adorable I loved it! I am so glad It's all gone, not one scrap left! I think I did pretty good, starting out with only nine sheets of the My minds Eye "bloom" paper... and be able to make two albums? (the flower/coffee filters album in my last post was the second) I love making the paper bag albums and leaving that extra pocket jobby in the pages, rather than waste that little space just calling for some journalling tags! Yes, that is Spongebob Squarepa...

Well I finally listed a new album tonight. Feels like I've been working on it forever...I suppose that's because I have been! I am using the new my minds eye, bloom and grow collections. So far I've made two albums from each variety of papers. Two flower albums, a chipboard and a bag album. I'll be listing them as I finish up their final touches. I hope they all do well, with bids that is! And boy, does that bring me right in to my next subject... I just had a second album of this week end with no bids. I'm pretty frustrated too! They were both so unique, I just don't get it. I have listed them on etsy, hoping their owners will find them soon! :) well, go check out the latest anyway!------> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=310142114860

I just finished up my latest Accent Scrapbooking design team project. It was a word album that says "LOVE". Now there's something a little more special about *this* word album... this one has clear acrylic letter overlays! This is only my second word album but it was pretty fun! The acrylic letters make for a very sharp word album I must say! You can give each letter that silhouette and really make it stand out! BUT, as working with all acrylic, you must spend all the time and care keeping them crystal clear. It is not easy! At one point all my letters where zipped up in snack baggies! I got so eager, finished up the letters and still had all the photo mats to do. It worked great, I think it helps to know just what will show on the outside, then fit the inside in afterward. I hope to be listing it on ebay today! Hope you check it out!

Well I think it took me every bit of this last week to get this baby done. Like I have said, it's been a long week. And although the other album is not quite done it is very similar to this one. I can't figure out why it would be so hard for me to make a couple albums with this paper. Sure, I bought a limited amount of sheets, but I seldom waste any. The only thing that I can figure is that one would be for my mom! Whenever I make something specifically for someone, I feel lots of pressure. When I make something for ebay or etsy , I really feel NO pressure. I just figure someone will love it...and hope they want it ALOT ! :O) This is Karen Foster paper, yep the flimsy stuff. LOL ! It was just too cute to pass up. Plus it says my moms name written all over it! I lay out my papers, make my chipboard pages, I pull out ALL coordinating ribbons, some fibers, and embellishments I have. Then I start tracing my chipboard pages on the papers. I like being able to poke around with ev...

Wow, It's been days! So much for pictures of that album progress eh? Well i have had sick babies, if you could really even call it that! The girls got the weirdest RED cheeks, then brock out in a rash. Turned out it is wgat they call slap cheek, or fifth's disease. Never heard of it before, but by the time your cheeks get red and you have a rash, your not contagious anymore! So no meds to take or anything, just rest fluids and baby the rash a bit. They say you're suppose to be sick at some point before you get the rash, but I never saw any signs of them being sick?! Well, that's my first excuse...

Well another day races past...wish I had a time machine! Between kids growing up too fast and house chores, I sure find it hard to fit much "me" time in. Then fit crafting in there too? We are talking mass amounts of coffee, and wee hours! I love them both dearly. This seems to be a very wishy washy time of the month for me. My creative drive must be run by the moon or something! You know, sometimes you can only imagine... sometimes you just want to be a base maker drone...sometimes all you can do is the beautifying. Sometimes it is really hard to get an album to flow right out! I have come across some super-cute spring papers and my head is just spinning thinking of the ways of using them! Number one, I'm thinking I might make my Mom an album with them for Mothers day... then of course theres ebay. I have to make two albums without burning myself out in the process! So I've littered the kitchen table once again with the papers, chipboard, primas, ribbons, and any ...

Well, I'm all settled in with a new group of ebay peers. I've joined the Making Lemonade Design Team! They sure are a group of great women :) The first challenge I've been around for was to make a "green" project. I chose to use my cricut and make this *fancy* little birdhouse album like this kit another seller had on ebay. I bid up to $41! {This would make the coolest Mothers Day gift!} I bid a second or two too slow and lost, but I couldn't be happier for that! I figured out that a cricut cartridge called "stretch your imagination" had the dang thing right there on it! So I spent $35 and got the cartridge instead! Hey I'm a paper artist, I should be able to come up with the kit part myself, right!? Now, back to my "Green" project. After much tinkering with the new deep cut blade and housing, I finally got my chipboard birdhouses cut out--which I might add were cut from Reeses puffs cereal box and a box from the individual packs of Qu...