Five Year Journal - The Easy Way

**I like to consolidate all my writing here. This originally appeared on my blog at The Papercraft Lab a few months ago.

I get lost in the Internet sometimes, clicking around to different blogs, reading papercrafting message boards, browsing Etsy shops.  A few weeks ago, I found a really neat DIY project - making a five year journal.  Each day of the year has a page, and you write 1-2 lines on it for each of 5 years.  After the first year, you can look back at what you did that same day the previous year. Very cool, right? As expected for women in my demographic, I pinned it to my "someday" list of projects.

Right now, I'm trying to get my business off the ground. I'm also home with 2 little kids all day, since preschool is not yet back in session. We're currently in the middle of a home addition project, which means we need to find space in our house to move things out of the construction zone - aka massive decluttering. I don't NEED another project right now, no matter how cool it is. 

As is the Way of the Internet, I got another nudge to do this by Laura Vanderkam, one of my favorite nonfiction authors. She talks about keeping a short file of "awesome things" as a sort of quick journal.

The final push was via email from a close friend. She sent me a DesignSponge post about making (guess what?) a five year journal. Hah. Clearly the universe is telling me I need to do this now.

It's something that appeals to me a lot. I have a daily planner where I've been jotting down daily memories to include in our family's Project Life scrapbook, which details our day-to-day lives.  (more on that in another post!)  But when the year is over, I'm not sure I want to keep this planner around.  

So I finally gave up the idea of *making* a five year journal, because I don't have time for that right now. I went to Amazon and ordered one.  I had several options, and chose the robins-egg-blue one from Chronicle books, thanks to its hardcover and elegant gold lettering and pages. 

I started writing in it back in August. Sometimes you just have to choose the solution that works best now and gets those memories on paper, instead of the pie-in-the-sky DIY project, no matter how cool it sounds.

Project Life 2013: Someday We'll Find It

Since starting the Phone Photography class last week and exploring different apps for photo taking and editing, I realized my workflow to process photos went all crazypants. Now the photos are in multiple directories *and* there are different-sized duplicates, thanks to Instagram resizing photos when uploading.

I sat down to sort it out this weekend and realized I need to pick a path and stick to it.  So for now, I'm taking photos with Vignette and editing them in Pixlr Express, which allows me to save large files.  I may or may not share them on Instagram, but I'm no longer using it for images I want to print, since I haven't yet figured out how to save those photos at a good resolution for printing larger than 4x4.

After I got all the photos on my computer, I used my usual workflow within Adobe Lightroom to select and print images for this Project Life layout.  And as usual, I had more photos than would reasonably fit, but I got creative and combined some in a single pocket.  I got all but one to fit on the spread, but that meant I didn't have as much room for journaling as I would like.  (As you know, I'm long-winded.)

Click on a photo to enlarge it.

June 17-30: T's dance recital, zoo trip, park GPS roulette

Jun 17-30: Preschool picnic, swimming lesson, outings with sisters

Old & new together

Studio Calico PL kit card + Elle's Studio frame, artistically askew

I didn't use a specific kit this week.  I had one precious sheet of gorgeous rainbow polka-dot paper I was hoarding from the We R Memory Keepers 2010 line called "72 and Sunny". I used every one of those 144 square inches on this layout. Ever since I rediscovered it while moving everything out of my leaky craftroom, I've wanted to use it for Project Life, and it's perfect for summer.

The spread came together fairly quickly. After selecting and printing photos like I always do, I grabbed the special paper and pulled out a small set of coordinating stickers, cards, letters and embellishments from what I had nearby on my desk. I only chose things that were cream-based because I have a real issue mixing white and cream, which someday I'll overcome. Maybe.

The paper coordinated nicely with the cream-background hexagon journaling stickers from Jillibean Soup that I've also been hoarding since last year.  I found a couple of chevron cards in my recent Studio Calico kits and threw those into the mix.  The random die-cuts came from the mystery bowl on my desk. I love flipping through it to find perfect little surprises.  For a bit of shine, I grabbed two packs of the tiny round Heidi Grace adhesive metal accents which I keep buying at Jo-Ann when they go on sale.  I love those little things and they fit nicely with the polka dot paper.

And now the year is half-over and I'm still on track, so yay for that. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate all the photos I'm taking for my photography class.  Maybe just a couple of extra pages for those, or I'll make a 12x12 grid and get it printed professionally for the album. I can't tell you how happy I am my photos are actually printed and physically available to look through, rather than trapped on our server, languishing in the digital abyss.

Here's a slide show of all my 2013 pages, including close-ups.  If you can't see it, click here to view my entire 2013 Project Life gallery.

And my heart's numbered beats

The title is from one of my favorite songs ever.  Super extra bonus points if you can guess it :)

One of the delightful things I've discovered in my craft supply addiction is "warehouse sales" or "warehouse boxes".  Paper manufacturers seem to do this once or twice a year to clear out stock before new lines are released.  In many cases they have an open sale at their warehouse, which doesn't help me because I don't think any of the companies I love are in Seattle.  BUT many of them sell "warehouse boxes" online - a grab box of goodies for one flat price.

I love, love, love the surprise element here.  Especially if I choose a manufacturer where I like most of their designs and products. Not to mention it's usually a screamin' deal per piece compared to retail prices.

Last week I ordered a box from Pink Paislee.  I actually wasn't very familiar with their recent products, except for the very excellent Portfolio line, but a quick search online gave me the impression that I'd like a lot of their stuff.  It was around $56 including shipping, and arrived in one of the USPS Medium Flat Rate boxes, packed full.

It was amazing!  In total, I got 34 items in the box, each with retail prices from $2.99 up to $28.  Nearly all of it was stuff I would use - there were just a few things that were a little too boho, floral, vintage, or cottage/shabby for my taste.  But the items were all from recent collections: City Sidewalks (Christmas), Christy Tomlinson, Luxe (yay!), Portfolio, Secret Crush (Valentine's), Artisan, and Heidi Swapp.

oh, my goodness, Pink Paislee.

The lot included a ton of paper - a 6x6 pack, two 8x8 packs, a 12x12 collection pack, and a stack of around 28 12x12 sheets from all of the collections. I also got a few mini albums, embellishments, stickers, rub-ons and masks for stenciling or misting.

The big surprise for me was discovering the Luxe line.  It is AMAZING.  Shiny, simple and geometric. I want all of it now, so maybe Pink Paislee will get me at retail price for the rest of the collection! The gold and silver paper pack is available with Amazon Prime, so I just 1-clicked it.  Woot.

I found someone who wanted a few of the things that were not my style so we arranged a trade, which means I'll get a few more items I can use.  I'm pretty excited about that, even if I'm not able to sell or trade the remaining few pieces that aren't my style.  (T can always use more crafting supplies, right?)

Here's a complete list of what I got in my box (be amazed, papercrafters!):

28 sheets of 12x12 papers from all collections

Secret Crush:
photograms frames
element stickers
photo frames
photo tabs

Luxe (swoon!):
12x12 paper pack in copper/black
2 packs of rub-ons
3 placemats/masks in gold and silver

City Sidewalks:
8x8 paper pack
paper garland
collage sheets

Artisan:
chipboard arrows
2 packs of mistable fabric trim
2 packs of puffy stickers
8x8 resist paper pack
canvas album covers
album tabs
photo corners
3d flowers
3d butterflies

Christy Tomlinson:
6x6 paper pack
2 masks
3 packs of rub-ons

Heidi Swapp:
3 wood mini albums (heart, star, scroll)

Hope Chest: (will be finding a new home for these)
burlap butterfly embellishments
journal cards

Cottage Farms: (will be finding a new home for these too)
photo frames
journal cards

This was definitely a great deal, and the anticipation of delivery and the fun of pulling tons of little things out of the box made my weekend even better.  I'd totally buy this again.

So, have you gotten one of these magic boxes?  From where?  Did you like it?

I'm always workin', slavin' every day

Baby.

Bonus points if you guess where that song lyric is from.

I had the perfect flexible "job" today where I was able to bring my baby and leave in time for T's preschool pickup. Even better, it involved craft supplies.

A few months ago, I signed up for the Citrus Twist kit for my Project Life pages. The first month it arrived, I was surprised to find that the return address on the package was a small town 20 minutes from us.  That month, my kit took a week to arrive because USPS thought my box needed a vacation in Jacksonville, FL (seriously).

You know I have a weakness for craft supplies, and especially papercrafty kits. Given that I was soon going to be jobless but didn't want to give up my kit subscriptions, I asked Trina, the business owner if she needed any help.

To my surprise she said yes! So today I got a behind-the-scenes peek into the fascinating world of running a scrapbook kit club.  BabyM and I went to her house after our Starbucks run (I really need to give that up!) and Trina gave me a job to do - measuring and cutting lengths of gorgeous ombre-colored twine for this month's kits.

Tasks like this relax me. One of my all-time favorite jobs in college was sorting mail for the Chemical Engineering department.  Campus Mail Services dropped off a huge box with all the mail for the building.  It was my job to put the mail into each individual's mailbox and forward items to folks who were no longer there.  I did this for one hour twice a day every weekday.

It was a welcome respite from hours of chemistry, math and physics lectures and the looming problem sets that were always due.  Not to mention that $10/hour was a kingly sum for my 18-year-old self.  Unexpectedly, that job yielded me 2 offers for paid summer research positions and I met a lot of graduate students and faculty I never would have talked to otherwise.  Opportunity often knocks when I'm least expecting it.

Today I had a great time chatting with Trina about how she runs her business, new paper products (swoon), and our families.  BabyM played (mostly) quietly on the floor next to us.  I didn't get as much done as I had hoped, but will go back next week while BabyM plays with her grandparents.

It was a neat way to spend a few hours this morning, and despite forgetting to take photos, I'll definitely include it in my upcoming Project Life layout!

Subscriptions: It comes and it goes

My love affair with magazine subscriptions started in college when I had hourly jobs.  I'd plunk down the $12 to get a year of Glamour, Cosmopolitan, or InStyle and loved getting new issues in the mail.  After a stressful day of math and physics it was great to lose myself in something mindless, plus it gave me new reading material for the treadmill.

When I got a "real job" after grad school, I got even more crazy.  Buying a house meant I needed a subscription to Sunset "the magazine of Western Living" so I could get recipes, travel ideas, and other domestic stuff.  Their recipes are awesome and always turned out perfectly. 

I also loved Real Simple which is pretty and domestic, but not at all simple, just expensive minimalist design.   Cooking Light was another favorite for healthy recipes, when I learned I could trade in frequent flyer miles for free magazines on airlines where I wouldn't accumulate enough to get a free flight.  I had a job which required plane travel weekly, so having all these magazines helped pass the time.

When we moved to Seattle and my job became more demanding, the magazines piled up.  My new swanky gym had its own subscriptions to things I liked to read.  I didn't have much time to be domestic.  So slowly I cancelled all the subscriptions, except for a few.  I loved the topics and writing at Wired, and got a free subscription to Blender, a music magazine that was surprisingly interesting and well written.  But still, I didn't *need* them so I let my subscriptions lapse in the interest of saving money.

I also had a portable satellite radio gadget so we could listen to XM radio in the house or at the gym.  I LOVED the variety of music, but not so much the monthly fee.  When we were getting ready for T's arrival, we looked at all of our expenses and cut where we could - no more XM, no more DirecTV, no more home phone.

I have acquired my husband's dislike of monthly subscription fees.  I get it - from a financial point of view, it's a regular outflow of money that you're often locked in to, you may not be using it as much as you're paying for it, and it's sort of "invisible" because you either pay up front or it gets billed automatically, making you more out of touch with where the money is going.

So for a long time I had no regular subscriptions to anything - no magazines, no online services, no TV, nothing.

But they've crept back in.  I signed up for a subscription to the gorgeous CARDS magazine.  I also found out from my friend Jenn that there are scrapbooking kits you can subscribe to monthly.  I didn't need to know this, given my tendencies to shop for and hoard craft supplies.

I signed up for Scrapscription, which is a monthly mini-album kit.  They're wonderfully complex, and the projects take me days to complete.  In fact, I've only finished two and I've been subscribing for 4 months now (yikes!).   But they're beautiful and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment when I finish one, not to mention they make fantastic gifts for relatives, or quick mini-scrapbooks to capture things we do.  The one I'm currently working is going to be about our girls' trip to Portland in July.

And of course craft hoarding begets more craft hoarding, so I also bought a small monthly subscription to the Silhouette Online Store, which allows me to download files to use with my electronic die cutting machine.  I've made T's birthday invites, lots of cards, and doo-dads for my Project Life pages this way.

Roller Rink Kit by Studio Calico. Droool.

My biggest temptation/money sink is my Studio Calico subscription.  Every month they release a new kit, plus several "add on" kits that coordinate.  I'd be fine if I just stuck with the main kit, but the "extras" are so gorgeous and fun that I usually end up getting one or two of those.  And recently they came out with a Card Kit, which I also "had" to have.  The nice thing is that everything in those kits matches, so for projects I can just grab a kit and get going and end up with a nice cohesive look.

So really, I just need to STOP with the monthly subscriptions.  I certainly have enough supplies to last me a long, long time.  Probably more than I'll ever be able to use!  In a month or two, I'm planning to re-evaluate these choices and see if I really need to continue *all* of them.  I'm sure I can scale back and still feel like I'm getting my little "treats".

What's your financial "vice" - the thing you can't get enough of?

Project Life: July 2012

A few weeks ago at the Studio Calico papercrafting forum, I posted my dilemma about journaling in my Project Life scrapbook.  For those who are not papercrafty, "journaling" is just a fancy way of describing photo captions, explanations and any other memory-capturing text that one adds to the page.

I find myself drawn to clean, symmetric, neat designs - check out Cathy Zielske's Project Life (she's a professional, so her pages look amazing).  It looks like a magazine!  I love it.

So I thought maybe I should switch from handwritten to printed journaling.  A few weeks ago, I printed some captions on decorative labels from Martha Stewart's line at Staples and they look awesome.  But it was a hassle to download the template, get everything set up correctly, then go down and print them on my fancy printer.  I'm not sure spending *more* time on the computer is what I need.

I also think that having my handwriting in the album is more personal since we so rarely handwrite *anything* anymore.  So for now I've decided to do some printed journaling and some handwritten captions.  Click each photo to see a larger version.

July 2-8: My Mondo Beyondo Dream Lab, cake fail and art projects

July 9-15: Good Dog Carl park, Zeek's pizza, TJ's ride to Mt St Helens



July 16-22: Baby Beluga joins our family, lots of art projects, Red Robin for dinner

July 23-29: Road trip to Portland

I'm proudest of the Portland layout.  I used the Studio Calico Elmwood Park kit so it has a more cohesive look.  I'm definitely going to try to use more coordinated papers for the rest of the year.  I also love how the computer journaling looks.  It was a pain to get it formatted correctly in Microsoft publisher, but a snap to print on my fancy printer.




Detailed view of Week 4 crafty bits

I love the 9-slot page protector from We R Memory Keepers that I got as part of a multipack. The slots are the perfect size for Instagram photos if you print them 4x4".  I like to print them a bit smaller so I can fit some craftiness around them.

TJ pointed out that the rest of the year is not going to fit in the binder I bought to store my pages, so I've decided to consolidate to 2 weeks per 2 page layout.  Which will be a little less stressful when BabyX' arrives, anyway.   I'm also working on a separate mini album for our Portland trip since I took a lot more photos than I've put in that week's layout.

As you can tell, I'm all fired up about craftiness right now, which is great.  I just wish it extended to things like organizing BabyX's clothes or room...

And the winner is...

BabyT helped me pick the winner for my first ever giveaway, of 3 rolls of washi (and washi-like) tape.  I punched circles from a piece of scrap paper (our hotel receipt from our Portland trip), wrote everyone's name on it, folded them into quarters, and put them in a big purple bowl from IKEA. 

T caught on pretty quickly about her job, picked one, and asked me to read the name.  Smitha is the lucky winner, which is awesome since I'm always using the free Project Life printables that she designs. 

Thanks to everyone who entered!  I had 11 entries counting Smitha's double entry for Tweeting about the contest.  Not too shabby for a first one!

Also, in case you can't tell, I am LOVING Instagram.  I know it's overdone, and crazy that we are using all these filters to make our photo quality worse, but it's so fun.

They make Project Life a little easier too, because I've already chosen the good shots (or good enough) and processed them.  So all I need to do is print them and stick them in the album. 

I also found a great deal on 4x8" Canon photo paper, so I can now print two of these Instagram shots on one sheet instead of wasting part of a 4x6" sheet. 

I still use my regular camera a lot, but love the flexibility of Instagram, especially since I always have my phone with me.  I'm so glad they decided to release an Android version!!

Project Life: The Fabulous Month of June and a Giveaway!

I've actually been done with June's Project Life for a few weeks since I never got behind on those.  I didn't want to post those pages before I posted May's because I have this thing about being in order.  June was pretty mellow but full of fun things like a Caspar Babypants show, the awesome birthday crown T and TJ made for me, and T's first summer treats like ice cream (non-dairy of course) and a popsicle.  Also, more cupcakes.  The 3x4 cute hexagon card and the "every day" and "father's day" cards are FREE printables from Smitha Katti's blog.

Click on each photo to see a bigger version.

May 28- Jun 3: Caspar Babypants show, my new craft room, and grandparents!

 

Jun 4-10: Picking a color and sticking with it, not an exciting week :)

Jun 11-17: Cupcakes and friends, Father's Day @ The Keg, Baby X' ultrasound

Jun 18-24: T's first school concert, first ice cream cone, work photo shoot

Jun 25- Jul 1: my birthday, first mini album made, T's first popsicle

And now for the fun part!  I've never done a giveaway on my blog before, so I'm excited about this :)  While organizing my extensive collection of washi and "washi-like" tape, I found a few duplicates and ones I'm just not going to use.  One lucky winner will get 3 new rolls of paper tape: light purple washi tape from Japan, a roll of red solid tape, and a roll of checkered tape from the Todd Oldham line at Target.

How to enter:

Leave me a comment, and include an email address where I can reach you.  One entry per person, plus one extra if you share my link on Twitter or Facebook.  Just leave me the URL to your tweet or status update in your second comment and I'll put your name in the drawing twice.

Entries close by noon Pacific time on Tuesday July 31, 2012. BabyT will help me pick a random winner that evening and I'll notify the winner to get a mailing address, and soon after that one lucky person will be able to stick washi tape on everything his or her heart desires.  Hooray!

Update:  See here for the winner!  Thanks everyone for entering.

Tuesday Lovin': Washi Tape

I spent $20 on tape at Target last week. Yes, tape.  In my defense, it was really cute.  When I told TJ this, he just gave me the "why is my wife so crazy?" look.

Target "washi" tape

Target has adorable little sets of 4 rolls of tape that approximate washi tape.  Each pack is only $4 and I found red/pink, orange/yellow, green, and blue/violet versions.  I'd love to know if there are others!

Real washi tape is from Japan, made of rice paper, and is quite expensive - it's hard to find it for less than $3 a roll.  If you order it from Japan, you also have to pay A LOT for shipping.  But the real stuff from Japan is dreamy.

What's the big deal about this tape?  Well, for one thing, it's made of paper, either in solid colors or nifty patterns.  It can be a bit translucent so if you stick it on patterned paper, some of the design underneath shows through.  Since it's paper, it tears easily, or can be cut more precisely with scissors.  You can write on it with most pens, though some washi-like tapes have coatings on them that make this more challenging.  It is great for wrapping gifts, because you don't have to worry about hiding the tape, since it's cute and decorative.

The adhesive is removable, so the tape can be repositioned, though some of the more delicate ones need to be handled carefully to avoid tearing it.  It doesn't leave a sticky residue on things.  What's not to love?

Even better, washi tape reminds me of the Fisher Scientific tape we'd use in lab to label, well, everything.  Reagent bottles.  Our belongings.  Lab notebooks.  If you used a Sharpie to write on the label, the stuff was resistant to most chemicals.  Unless you were having misadventures with alcohol or something really caustic.  In which case you probably had more important things to worry about than your labels becoming unreadable.


My tape collection is somewhat out of control - I bought a new tray to hold it and I have about 50 different rolls.  I'm not allowed to buy any more.


Washi tape is super-trendy in scrapbooking and card making these days. A friend of mine makes really cool flowers out of washi tape as scrapbook embellishments, and has promised to show me how over Skype. How cool is that?

My new (vintage) baby, the Royal Quiet DeLuxe

Paper crafting blogs often post "craft porn", photos of some papercrafter's perfectly organized, purpose-built craft room that's bigger than our master bedroom. In one I noticed a bright pink vintage typewriter, tucked in a corner for the crafter to easily type titles on small pieces of paper.

That's when I started coveting a manual typewriter.  Yes, I have a printer and laptop in my craft room.  But I wanted something I could use quickly and easily to add words or phrases to a card or an embellishment.

I forgot about it, until someone in my Facebook stream posted a photo of typewriters for sale at an office supply store.  So I went out to Craigslist to see what I could find.

There were some truly gorgeous specimens in bright colors, orange with racing stripes (!) and bright blue, posted by a typewriter restorer.  But they were way out of my price range.  I wasn't willing to drop over $200 on a unitasker that I'd use only occasionally.

Then I saw an ad, in my area, for a 1940s Royal Quiet DeLuxe typewriter in good working condition for $45.  Score!  I made arrangements to meet up with the guy at a local Starbucks.  He explained that helps his mother sell antiques on Craigslist so she can make a little money and fund her estate sale hobby.  Cute, right?  I don't even care that she probably got this machine for $5 at a yard sale.  I've seen similar ones selling for $200, $300 and even $575 (!) online.

My new (old) baby

It's a gorgeous machine - clean, shiny glass topped keys, matte black, all metal, and works well.  There's no key for the number 1 or an exclamation point.  I guess I have to make do with a lowercase L and an apostrophe and a period together.  Apparently it was one of Ernest Hemingway's favorites.  You know, like the Moleskine notebooks I'm also so fond of.  (Good marketing foo, anyway.)

It's small, but it's *solid*.  Most of it is made out of metal.  I'm surprised at what good shape it's in - no dents, pieces missing, and all the keys still work.  Even the selector switch to toggle between red and black type works!  (And how cool is it that it comes with a red/black ribbon?!).

I ordered a couple of extra ribbons today for $8 each to make sure I don't run out - they're really easy to replace.  I love this thing!

Supply Love: Atyou Spica Glitter Pens by Too

So, as you already know, I have a thing for pens.  When browsing around various scrapbooking and papercrafting suppliers, I saw all kinds of gel pens.  I'm not a huge fan of gel pens - they smear too easily for my liking, especially on coated surfaces, and I'm often just not patient enough to let them dry.   Next thing you know, I've got ink all over my fingers, the item, and my work table, and I feel like that messy 2nd grader who just couldn't get the hang of the cursive 'r'. 

And then I saw two sets of glitter gel pens, made by Too, the same Japanese company that makes the very popular Copic markers. (More on the Copic markers later, because my Xmas present to myself was a set of those.)




I am a sucker for a nicely packaged multicolor pen set, and if you tell me they're from Japan I'm even more interested. My dad used to travel regularly to Japan on business when I was a kid, and he would always bring back intriguing gifts of pens, chiyogami paper-covered pencils and shiny origami paper.

I waffled for a while. These are not inexpensive pens, at around $25 per set. And did I really need 24 glitter pens? What was I going to use them for? In the end, my pen and sparkle craving won, and I bought the brighter Set A. I found another site where I could buy individual pens, and bought the clear pen, which isn't included in either set, apparently, and the handful of pens I wanted from the pastel-heavy Set B.

And man, these are amazing pens. They dry really fast. The glitter is very fine glass, so it's really sparkly in the right light. It doesn't look like the usual sparkly pens you associate with tween girls. Writing with them is really, really smooth and satisfying. They really do "twinkle like stars" as the cute packaging says.

I've found it best to store them on their side rather than upright - when I first wrote with them after storing them in my nifty IKEA hanging buckets, they seemed sort of dry and scratchy. Turned out that was user error and the pens clearly have instructions to store them on their sides. When I do more rubber stamping, I think they'll be great for coloring in small details and adding a bit of sparkle.

I love using them to write my Thank You notes to my Etsy customers, and to address envelopes. Since they dry so quickly, I'm no longer sending out smeary messes. I also use them to write 'handmade by anandi' on the backs of my cards. The sparkle makes my computer-degraded handwriting look a little nicer :)

Do you have these pens? What do you think?

Stalking my mailbox for craft supplies

Another little known source of craft supplies is my mailbox!

Nah, I'm not talking about something as cool as repurposing junk mail, though I do that for backings on my GeekMagnets.

It's just that with a toddler, going to the craft store is not the relaxing, solitary pursuit it used to be.  Her new trick is to repeat "Mama, all done" when she's tired of whatever we're doing.  I heard it many times today at the grocery, the bookstore, and in the car.  It's cute, but also just a tiny bit stressful, because I can't tell if it's going to turn into a huge meltdown and then therapy when she's 30 because her mama dragged her all over town to find the best deal on patterned paper. 

 So now I order things online after Miss Baby goes to bed. On a side note, hooray for a baby that goes to bed willingly at 6:30pm, to allow mama more online shopping/supply stalking/crafting time!

[caption id="attachment_82" align="aligncenter" width="514" caption="Photos by nycole.etsy.com and scrapnick.etsy.com"][/caption]

So what am I waiting for now, with bated breath?  That's right, more paper.  Because a girl can always use more paper, right?  To be precise, I'm waiting for 550 sheets of paper, from two different shops on Etsy.  Again, it's an assortment, so I'm not sure what I'm getting, but I can't wait to go through it.

And my paper-lovin' friend Jenn will benefit from it too, because she often likes the stuff I don't for her scrapbooks.  So hooray for paper!  Of course, I'll post photos of the good stuff when it arrives. 

But right now, I'm being very diligent about checking the mail and following the USPS tracking website.  Is it here yet?  How about now?  Now?

The Most Wonderful Elusive Pen in the World - Uniball Jetstream

(reposted, slightly updated from my personal blog at http://www.ramancreath.com/anandi)

When I was a kid, I LOVED back-to-school shopping – all those new writing implements, pristine notebooks, folders, planners, yay!

I would start out perfectly organized, using my best handwriting for my notes (this was in the Dark Ages, before laptops were common). In college, I even had a system of using multiple colored pens and highlighters to take lecture notes. And those were some pretty notes. It hurt to put them in the recycle bin after lugging them from house to house for 10 years.

I now have free access to (mediocre) office supplies at work so I don’t have any major occasions to shop for stationery or school supplies. But I crave them.

[caption id="attachment_76" align="alignleft" width="168" caption="photo from www.jetpens.com "][/caption]

I found a pen on my desk the day I returned from maternity leave and it was a Marvelous Pen. It was like the Pen Fairy had left me a present welcoming me back to work – the perfect combination of rollerball/gel pen, with a nice squashy grip and unbelievably smooth writing action. I loved that pen. Until my coworker Michelle saw it one day, and told me it was her lost pen. She knew it was a Marvelous Pen, and she wanted it back, so I grudgingly gave it back to her.

For months I sought that pen: Target, Office Depot, Staples. For some reason I never bought the right one – I knew the brand (Uniball Jet Stream RT), but every pack I bought wasn’t quite right.

The Target pens were too light and plasticky and were more traditional ballpoint than rollerball.

TJ bought one pack for me at Office Depot, but those were too inky and not “gel” enough.

I bought another set at Staples, but the point was far too fine. At that point, I had enough pens that we’d never need to buy more, but the quest still continued.

A few months ago, I bought what I thought was a set of 3 Marvelous Pens. Bold, rollerball, from Office Depot, with a nice weight to them. But sadly, these are not the droids (um, pens) I was looking for either. They are too ball-pointy, and don’t have the nice squishy grip.  They are the closest match, but still not quite right.  I feel like Goldilocks.

I thought I was destined not to ever find these pens, but I have one last place to try.  Another coworker introduced me to JetPens, a site that sells Japanese office supplies.  Their Uniball JetStream selection is different, so I'm hopeful.  I haven't placed the order yet, though, because I'm not ready to face the disappointment if they're not the right ones.  Soon, though.

Do you have a pen story?

Newbie Papercrafters, Shop Craigslist!

When you pick up a new crafty hobby, part of the fun is buying all the new and exciting supplies, right?  It would be great if supply money grew on trees! Then you could just go down to the nearest scrapbook store, throw down $1000 and buy everything your heart desires.

Unfortunately the real world doesn't work that way, or at least not here in my real world.  I keep my craft supply money strictly separate from my "day to day life" money, otherwise we'd be broke.  My tag and jewelry business keeps itself running and also funds my other crafty pursuits, so I keep a close eye on those finances.

And of course the startup costs to get into an entirely new hobby can be high - new tools, new consumable supplies, new storage and workspace, etc.  The list goes on.  So I try to save money where I can, especially on supplies.

One of my super-secret (ok, not really) resources for supplies is Craigslist.  Here in Seattle, it's a very active site, so you can find all sorts of deals.   For those who aren't familiar, it's a free local classified ads site, available in many parts of the world.   Transactions are carried out in person, and the site just hosts the ads - it's not responsible for any part of the transaction.  You contact the person via the email address in the listing and work out the details from there.  The site is more active in some locales than others, so check your own city to see what's going on.

Many crafters turn to Craigslist to get rid of old supplies, especially if they're moving on to a different craft, clearing out space for a new baby, or just one day realize they have way too many supplies.  (I can't imagine how that would happen!)

Scrapbooking seems to be a popular craft to downsize, so there's almost always paper and rubber stamping supplies to be found.  But you need to do a little legwork and research on your own to determine whether you're really getting a good deal.  Since you're just buying from another individual, there's no "money back guarantee" if you're not happy.

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My tips for supply shopping on Craigslist (CL):

 

• Look for photos.  CL has lots of listings without photos.  It's hard to know exactly what condition and type of supplies you're getting without them.  Listings with photos tend to have more responsive and honest sellers, in my experience.  It's worth sending a message to see if someone has photos of a listing you're interested in.


• Know retail prices.   I occasionally see supply listings on Craigslist asking for full retail price or more (!).  If I'm going to pay that much, I'd rather buy my supplies at a shop with a return policy.   CL is for bargains and deep discounts.  For example, with scrapbook paper, I know the high end stuff typically retails for $0.75 to $1.00 per sheet.  I don't buy paper on CL unless it's 20 cents a sheet or less.  And I'd only pay 20 cents for the high end designer stuff.


• Ask questions.  This is especially important for tools.  Ask if they're in good shape, still in working condition and whether they have replacement parts.  Do some online research to find out if the replacement parts are available - for example, if you buy a circle cutter, can you still find replacement blades?  Ask how old the tool is and why they're  selling it.


• Be safe.  CL has gotten a lot of bad publicity lately, with people getting into bad situations after agreeing to meet.  Don't go to someone's house to pick up your items - meet in a public place in daylight hours.  This is probably less of an issue with someone getting rid of craft supplies, but you just never know.


• Expect some disappointments.  Yes, sometimes you'll buy a "grab bag" of paper and embellishments and then find out that none of them are your style.  Maybe you can swap with a friend, donate them to a school, or resell them.  Minimize this by researching what you'll get before you spend the money.


• Calculate the real cost.  Someone might be selling a whole boatload of awesome supplies for $5 but they live 50 miles and a ferry ride away.  If it's going to take me all day to get there and back, is it really worth it?  It's not just the price tag, but your time and effort as well. 


• Bargain confidently.  In general, Americans are not comfortable with bargaining.  I know, because I'm one of them.  But with CL postings, I always ask if a specific lower price is possible - somehow over email it seems less intimidating and awkward.  For example, if they're offering a lot of paper for $25, I ask if they'll take $20 for it.  The worst they can do is say no.  And the secret truth is that I'd probably still buy it anyway.  But it's always nice to spend less money, if the person is willing to take it.  Settle on the price before you meet to pick up the item to avoid awkwardness.


• Keep checking back.  In active locations like Seattle and the Bay Area, new listings are constantly posted.  Check often to get great deals and jump on them as soon as you can.

I've gotten some really great deals on Craigslist.  I especially like "grab bags" of supplies where I have a general idea of what I'm getting (paper, stickers, stamps) but don't know the specifics of everything that's included.  Part of the fun is getting everything home and then going through it!  I'll highlight a few of my really great finds in some upcoming blog posts.  Happy shopping!

Now, your turn!  Have you used Craigslist to buy supplies for your craft?  What were your big scores?

Craft Supply Sunday: moo Cards and Stickers

I have a deep love for papercrafting supplies.  In fact, when I first started making jewelry and needed to pick up a few things at the local craft store, I had to to walk past the papercrafting section and I coveted all the interesting things available to scrapbookers and card makers.

In the fine tradition of Twitter's Follow Friday, I'd like to start a little feature to highlight supplies and vendors I love, called "Craft Supply Sunday".  Lord knows I have enough supplies to never run out of post topics! 

So here's to the first installment, where I highlight some awesome business cards and stickers.  I love me some personalized paper products!

One of the things people suggested on the Etsy Forums was to get business cards to include in sold orders, or hand them out to people inquired about my jewelry.  One of the companies frequently mentioned on the Etsy forums was MOO, a small printing company based in the UK.

What caught my attention about these cards was the fact that they were double sided, and you could put a photo of your work on one side, and your standard business info on the other.  Pretty cool, right?  But even cooler than that was that *each* card in a pack of 100 could have a *different* photo.  THAT is amazing.    The other nifty thing is that they offer two sizes - standard business card size and a minicard which is half that size (long and skinny).  The minicards are unique and stand out nicely against a sea of boring business cards.

I've ordered both the minicards and the regular business cards, and the quality is outstanding.  The cardstock they use is amazing - a nice velvety, thick and heavy card.  It's like no other business card I've seen.  The finish is sort of in between glossy and matte - luminous but not outright shiny.  Both sides are in color, and you can even add a small photo or logo to the "business" side.   As you can tell, I'm totally sold on these little guys.

The other really neato product they offer is a stickerbook with 90 stickers made from your photos.  These are the ones I used on BabyT's first birthday invitation. The stickers are high quality, with an almost vinyl-like feeling. Just like the cards, you can get 90 different ones, or multiples, if you upload fewer than 90 photos. They'd be really great for scrapbook layouts or gift packaging. I also like to stick them on my laptops to add a little baby cuteness to my work day.

When I ordered my stickers, some of them came out very overexposed, even though the originals weren't that bright.  I sent a quick note to Moo customer service and they responded immediately AND reprinted my order.  They were perfect the second time.  I love this company!

If you're not feeling inspired by your own photography, Moo's website offers lots of readymade designs by cool designers.  You can also get colorful cards with text or sayings on them instead of a photo, and you can choose the colors, background design and font. 

Tips for ordering your Moo cards or stickers:

• Choose high-resolution bright photos.  If they're not high resolution, they'll look grainy when printed, and if they're even slightly dark, that will be magnified on the printed version.  I made that mistake with my first set.  It might even be worth saving a second copy of your photos with the brightness level increased a bit.


• Plan to spend at least 30 minutes to an hour uploading and cropping photos, especially if your originals are large.  The upload process is slow, and depending on the products you order, you have to crop them to get the best fit.  Some photos will just not fit right on the thin minicards.  Stickers look best with closeup face shots, or zoomed in macro-details, since they're only about 3/4" square.


• Order multiple sets if possible.  You'll want to keep some for yourself, and if you order enough, the price will go down slightly. 


• Use this coupon code for 10% off  a pack of 200 business cards: TFENM9. 


• Contact Moo right away if you're not happy with your order - they are very responsive and helpful!

Once I use up my current stash of non-Moo cards, I plan to reorder.  Once you go Moo, you can't be satisfied with regular cards.   And I'm also looking forward to getting more cute babyT stickers with recent photos.  She's starting to like stickers now, so I might share a few with her, just to watch her little face light up in recognition.

Have you ordered from Moo?  What did you think?