Cord Scrapbook Studio

Taken for Granted

We experienced a temporary internet outage this morning at Cord and while I waited (patiently, of course--HA!) for service to return, I came to the realization that a large part of my life--and in this instance, my job--revolves almost completely around the internet! I felt totally crippled! (Those of you who have endured the occasional outage before would understand--it's so easy to take something for granted until you reach a point where that something is gone!) Given this spontaneous opportunity to sit quietly with my thoughts, my mind started rambling on and on about the things I just can't live with out and what life would be like if those things had never come into existence in the first place--running water, electricity, the autombile. Life sure would be interesting without the onset of technology, no?

So naturally my random thought process eventually carried me into the wonderful world of scrapbooking. (Imagine that!) Now, it's hard to imagine life without scrapbooking for me and not because I'm product-crazed and hobby-obsessed but because the life and art of taking pictures and documenting memories has become a large part of who I am and what I do. Without my DSLR camera, my Quickutz Revolution or my Silhouette, my Crop-a-dile and my Xyron "X", I admit I'd feel kinda lost! But you know..even without these extra-special bells and whistles of present-day papercrafting (electronic die-cutting machines, "quiet" eyelet-setting apparati, sticker makers...) I'd like to think I'd still be scrapbooking! (I'd just be cutting titles out by hand, noisily hammering out my metal eyelets and desperately trying to get glue on those pesky little diecut pieces instead of on my fingers using a pair of tweezers and a glue stick!)

What are some of the "modern" scrapbooking conveniences you often take for granted but realize you probably couldn't live without? Could you still scrapbook without them?!

*NEW* Bazzill Glazed Cardstock!

 You know.... Bazzill is pretty awesome. You'd think that a cardstock company wouldn't really do much other than, well... your basic, plain-old cardstock. But Bazzill is constantly expanding their product line with coordinating buttons, brads, flowers, border strips--everything you or I could ever want or need to pull together our pages and projects.  But it's not just the addition of non-paper items that makes them one of the best scrapbooking companies ever when it comes to keeping things updated and "fresh"... their cardstock lineup is top notch--textured & trendy, its selection growing all the time.

So prepare to be "Razzled, Dazzled, and Bazzill-ed." I've got a sneak peak of the hottest new cardstock lineup Bazzill has added to their collection--coming soon to a Cord Scrapbook Studio store near you!

  Glazed Cardstock. That's right, folks. Now some of your favorite Bazzill colors have been given a shiny, transparent coating (glaze) to create a dazzling, monochromatic effect that looks wet even when it isn't!

   Available in ten colors/styles: Pink Fairy Polka Dot, Pomegranate Stripe, Festive Floral, Hillary Arboretum, Ivy Holly Flourish, Ocean Blizzard, Sugar Cookie Vine, Walnut Neighborhood, Bazzill White Lovebirds, and Raven Wallpaper, these ten new designs are sure to add that "little extra somethin'" to your papercrafts! 

    Word on the street is that some new 6x12 mini scalloped DOTTED SWISS papers are also coming into the cardstock lineup! Pretty exciting, don'tcha think?  What are you most looking forward to?

Mini Cards!

Twelve handmade mini cards with twelve unique designs.
Adorable unique designs, I might add.  

Such is the subject matter of Stephanie's July Card Club taking place next Wednesday, July 1st at the Delaware store. These are the perfect way to send out those "just because" greetings to your friends, co-workers, family members, etc... Embellished with ribbons, diecuts, buttons and assorted inks, these KI Memories inspired cards and coordinating altered tin are just about the cutest thing ever. (And what a great gift idea, too!)

$5 Crops!

We've got three crops taking place this weekend at our Clintonville, OH and Nora, IN locations! Temperatures are supposed to reach the 90's over the weekend so it's a great opportunity to settle in and enjoy the air-conditioning while catching up on some of those layouts you've been meaning to get to for a while now!

Crops are 5 hours long (6pm-11pm on Friday nights or 5pm-10pm Saturday nights), cost $5, and you can earn a $5 credit toward any scrapbooking merchandise purchase of $25! ($10 off purchases $40 or more!) Pre-registration is required, however, so call your local store today for more details!

Quickutz Epic Six Update

 Are you ready? It's coming! Quickutz *NEW* Epic Six tool will be hitting store shelves in less than a month! I haven't seen the tool up close and in person (yet) but I'm already a little anxious to give it a whirl! The suggested retail price for this baby is $89.99, however with our 30% off Everday Sale Price, it's only $62.99! Plus, customers who pre-order the Epix Six tool before August 31st can also participate in a mail-in rebate offer valued at over $20! Additional information about the Epic tool can be found here. Check it out!

Father's Day

I trust everyone had a great Father's Day this past weekend! A great big, belated Father's Day greeting and a "thank you for who you are and all you've done" to all of the Fathers & Grandfathers out there who have made our lives all the more memorable!

While I was researching ideas for a handmade Father's Day gift last Friday and Saturday, I stumbled upon the Bo Bunny blog which had some really great Father's Day card and homemade gift ideas I thought were really cute! I've posted my favorite here, but please check out their blog for additional photos & inspiration!

The Father's Day card pictured at left was designed by Design Team member Tamara Jensen, who shared step-by-step photos and instructions with blog readers here. I think I'm going to make one now for next year (and for once be one step ahead of the game!) I just think it's so unique!

On Saturday, they posted a bunch of different gift ideas for Dad--everything from a golf ball jar to a desktop brag book to a shadowbox layout or a glass magnet set... many of their projects featuring their Pet Shoppe collection.  It's a nice reminder that Pet papers don't necessarily have to be used just for pet pages! Sometimes it's refreshing to step outside the box a bit and the colors and patterns in this collection are well-suited for all of your masculine projects! 

Friday Favorite: Border Punches!

 You know how there's just some tools that seem to cycle in and out of the scrapbooking world? First there were decorative edge scissors and then they kinda went away. Fast-forward a little bit and there they were again--making a comeback as the must-have tools that were all the rage in scrapbooking a couple of years ago. Now they're sometimes really difficult to find!

Well, in a way I think border punches have kinda followed that same trail. They were once a had-to-have item a few years ago, then the "fad" moved on (although some of us still remained loyal) and now they're back with a vengeance--and multiplying! Two great suppliers of these totally awesome paper-edgers are Fiskars and EK Success--both of which provide scrapbookers with the high quality we need (to support heavy usage!) and the cute designs we crave!

There's scalloped edges, notebook paper edges, and lacy edges. Borders that mimic the look of a postage stamp, a cityscape, or waves! And punches you can weave ribbon through, punches with fancy, intricate designs, and punches that will even look like candles lined up on a cake!(You may have even noticed several of these used in Terri's Bordering Summer cards class featured in yesterday's blog post!)

Border punches are officially my favorite tool of the week. In fact, I just might make them my favorite tool for the entire weekend as I've got a stack of layouts that could surely use a little somethin' extra. So here's to livin' life on the edge... :-) 

  

"Bordering Summer"

Join Terri this month at the Hilliard and Clintonville stores as she teaches us to create ten cards (two each of these five styles) in her "Bordering Summer" Card class. Each card features a different Fiskars Border Punch and themes like Happy Birthday, Thanks, Wish you were Here, Happy Summer and One in a Melon! We'll also be using a wide assortment of products from Bo Bunny, Prima, Imaginisce, Sandylion and May Arts as well as tools and techniques using the Cuttlebug, Ellison, and Cricut systems! Everything will be pre-cut and ready to embellish and assemble! (Envelopes also included.) To register for this class, please contact the HIlliard or Clintonville store.

Color Study: Blue

   

Today I am inspired by the color blue. I'm not really sure why... It could be the pool party pictures from my cousin's birthday party last weekend that I just ordered prints of or the mental images I have ingrained in my brain of my two-yr-old dashing through the sprinkler yesterday afternoon. I had a blue-raspberry slushie at the zoo the other day and then bought the ingredients for homemade banana-blueberry bread last night at the grocery store. The skies have been particularly blue lately, clear with no rain in sight...and I just fit back into one of my favorite old pairs of blue jeans I've had waiting patiently in my closet ever since the day I found out I was pregnant with my firstborn.

 

I suppose it could be any number of those things that may have inspired my subconscious to think creatively in a world revolving around the color blue. But regardless of the reason(s) behind my temporary Indigo-insanity, I do find it oddly refreshing. Glancing through several of the old layouts and projects I've collected for the blog over the past year I found these blue-beauties and thought I'd share them with you in the hopes that you too might catch a little bit of the cool, relaxing calmness that makes up the essence of cyan.

  

Did you know that, according to color-wheel-pro.com, the color blue can be considered beneficial to the mind and body? Seriously! Apparently it has the ability to slow metabolism and produce a calming effect-- which would be why the color blue is so strongly associated with tranquility and calmness! Quite the nifty tidbit of info, don'tcha think?

Anyway... we're all busy people. We've all got places to go, people to see, to-do lists with a million checkboxes we've yet to begin crossing off. Especially in the summertime when we find ourselves dashing from waterpark to barbecue, baseball game to beach vacation. But in the midst of all of the hustle and bustle, I hope that you too find some peace and tranquility--the sea of blue that's out there just begging you to "take a load off" and breathe in a bit of cool, refreshing air.

Happy Tuesday!

Sketch of the Week: A Method to the Madness

Learning to scrapbook is a process, right? We're always trying something new, testing the waters with a different style or technique, expanding our creative horizons...

Well I've been scrapbooking for awhile now. And you'd think that, in all that time (almost 15 years now!) I'd have found a process that works best for me. A routine, if you will, for scrapbooking....

Step one, take pictures. Step two, print pictures. Step three, buy matching paper. Step four, glue printed pictures onto matching paper.

Okay, okay... maybe it doesn't need to be quite so robotic, but you get the point. See, I have yet to find a system, a process, that works for me. Something that says "first I do this, then this, I add in a little of this next, and voila! Rinse and repeat as needed." And the fact that no matter how hard I've tried to find that perfect method to my scrapbooking madness and I've always come up short...well, it's been kinda frustrating!

But you know... I'm starting to think that such a routine doesn't really exist. Afterall, aren't we sometimes inspired by our photos and other times by a particular sketch or a patterned paper, a special event in our lives, or by simply being among friends at a crop? And if that's the case, and your starting point varies layout to layout, then maybe I'm just over-thinking it and it really doesn't matter at all in the long run what order you do things in or how you put it all together. Hmm...

Perhaps that's what is so freeing about the art of scrapbooking. You can try new things, attempt a different technique or branch out to a different style every now and then and it doesn't interupt your "flow". There's nothing that says you have to do things a certain way or in a certain order every single time, try as I might to find out what those "cetain things" are. And no one ever said we needed to aim for perfection--that we'd learn and learn and learn and then one day hit the point where we were at the skill level of our favorite scrapbook celeb and stop there. Scrapbooking, I guess, is just one of those "fluid" hobbies--it grows and changes with us outside of the need for a regimented process.

Food for thought, anyway! I'd love to hear what you've learned in your scrapbooking journey--the routines you follow, the techniques you love, and how you "keep it real" when you feel the scrap-pressure to define your method to this madness!