Keeping Up With the Scrapbooking Community

A smart publisher once told me, "Always provide your readers with extra value." It's a motto I've adopted as my own. Some of my readers don't care a hoot about scrapbooking. But for those who do, I need to stay on my toes. I have to stay involved in my craft or I'll let them down!

How do I stay involved in scrapbooking? Here's where I find inspiration:

1. Craft stores. I visit them whenever I can, wherever I can. Every store is different. This summer I spent time at ScrapbooksPlus! (Chantilly VA), The Scrapbook Factory (O'Fallon IL), Daisy Lane (Mattoon IL), and For Keeps Sake (St. Louis MO). These indies are dear to my heart. The women entrepreneurs who own them continue to inspire me.

2. Craft events. I had a table at the Great American Scrapbook Convention and I attended Scrapfest last year. Walking around the show floors you see what's hot and what's trendy in the industry. It also provides me a chance to visit my friends (and many of them have been my pals for more than a decade). One of my faves is Judith Kleinschmidt of Stamps by Judith.

3. Craft Magazines. I subscribe to Scrapbooks, Etc. I also love PaperCraft Inspirations, a UK publication that includes a free gift with every publication. That means I get to try flocking and stencils and pop-ups cards and all sorts of things.

4. Books. I love looking outside the papercraft industry for inspiration. Recently I bought Generation T: Beyond Fashion (120 New Ways to Transform a T-Shirt) by Megan Nicolay. Want a tee to transform? You can win a "Kiki Lowenstein Fan Club" tee at my blog. (Hurry. The contest ends August 15.)

Fiction continues to inspire me. I fell in love with Waking Up in the Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo, the Crafty Chica. Kathy not only delivers a fun story, she also reminds us that crafting is for everyone, no matter how we come to it or what we bring to it.

5. Craft Sites and Communities. A few of my favorites include Spotted Canary, About.com Scrapbook.com and Fiskars.

6. Craft Radio. I love Diva Craft Lounge Radio with Danielle and Rayme.

7. Doing it. None of this matters very much if you don't actually put it into practice. Crafting is like riding a bike. You could read a dozen instruction manuals, but you don't REALLY get it until you climb on and give it a whirl. I challenge myself to try new techniques. My latest album (shown at the top of the blog) celebrates the release of my dear friend Avery Aames' new book, The Long Quiche Goodbye, by using a round cheese carton. I paid homage to a food I love: TOMATOES. You can read more about it at my blog.

Summer Crafts Bonanza Begins!

Summer always conjures up all sorts of wonderful images and activities. Foremost is the linking of summer with relaxation. I find it a wonderful time to experiment with my craft supplies. And yes, it's also nice to get a headstart on anything I plan to make for the holidays.

One of my favorite ways to relax is to color. Yes, I love everything about coloring, the visuals, the motion of my hand on the paper, the tools, the end result, and the happy mistakes along the way. Pencil is my preferred method, because it gives me the most control. I like to sit with my husband and son in the evenings and indulge my love of coloring while we all watch TV.

I also enjoy stamping. A few weeks ago at the Great American Scrapbook Convention, I met up with a dear pal, Judith Kleinschmidt and her daughter Heather Kleinschmidt-Visser. Judith always inspires me. She's so talented, and so giving of her talent. I love watching her whip out samples for people! Check out her website for all sorts of ideas.

One of the best innovations in stamping, and one that Judith does with great ease, is the technique of masking. You put a "mask" over an area you've already stamped, so that it's obscured. Then you can put one stamped image on top of another.

Here's how that worked for me with the "falling stars" piece above.

1. I stamped the bucket stamp (just the bucket) on my art paper. I was careful enough to give myself room to add the tree. (That meant I had to leave about five inches of white paper above the bucket.)

2. Now I created my mask. I stamped the bucket again, this time on a sticky note. Be careful that you actually stamp on the portion of the note with the adhesive on the backside. I carefully cut out the new, second bucket.

3. I stuck the new bucket (on the sticky note) over the bucket I had stamped on my nice white paper.

4. I stamped the tree on top of the sticky note bucket, being careful to let the bottom of the tree stamp extend onto my sticky note bucket. After this step, peel off your mask.

5. I added the stars. (This was a cheap, clear stamp of a star that I bought somewhere for $2.)

6. I colored my image. One of the best tips I've ever gotten for coloring is to "marry" your colors. So my bucket might look green to you, but I've added every other pencil color to it. There are shades of red (from the handle), blue (from the background), purple (from around the stars), and gold (from the stars) mixed in the coloring of the bucket.

7. I added the "happy everything" stamped logo. I put a piece of foam tape underneath to cause it to "pop" off the page.

Now I can put my colored scene on a holiday card or reproduce it for my personal holiday letters. By the way, the bucket and tree were both created by Judith. Over the years, I've collected a lot of her stamps. They all go together, which makes them a great investment for a crafter.

It's 90 degrees outside today, but I feel pretty cool working on my holiday cards!