confessions of a cropaholic | a scrapbooking blog

GlueGlider Pro by GlueArts {a giveaway}

June 18th, 2010

UPDATE: The winner of this giveaway is #15: Laura!

There are several tools of the trade that papercrafters will swear by. We have our strong opinions on certain brands, models or manufactures when it comes to the things we use over and over. Just to mention a few…paper trimmers, albums, scissors, eyelet setters aaaand…adhesives. Am I hitting a nerve?

If you’ve been a scrapbooker or papercrafter for long you’ve probably used a myriad of adhesives. There are so many on the market today. I recall the days when you had to actually trim your own adhesive on the roll, then pull off the backing…its a little easier now with automatic adhesive runners (is THAT an understatement…).

Everyone wants the same things from an adhesive runner:

it has to be easy to use
it has to be good, strong adhesive
it has to be comfortable to hold
it has to be economical

GlueArts sent me a GlueGlider Pro to review. Take a look at a quick overview:

Not only is the GlueGlider Pro cute (because we know how important that is…), its a quality product that works well, consistently. There are cheaper adhesives out there, and though you get a lot out of each cartridge, each costs around $9. Yet, for the overall quality, I for one don’t mind paying an extra few pennies for a well working, easy to use tool that I use all the time.

Want to follow GlueArts on Twitter? They are @gluearts!

WIN IT! GlueArts has generously offered a GlueGlider Pro and the other goodies I mentioned in the video to one lucky reader.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Comment on this post telling me what is a MUST for you when it comes to an adhesive tool?
• it has to be easy to use
• it has to be good, strong adhesive
• it has to be comfortable to hold
• it has to be economical

2. For extra entries, tweet about this giveaway up to once a day and/or subscribe to this blog. Need a tweet idea? Try this: “Stuck on what adhesive is best? Enter to win @gluearts giveaway! @myapronstrings http://is.gd/cUPm1”

3. Entries must be made by Friday, July 2 at 11:59 p.m. MST.

Good luck cropaholics!

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“home” scrapbook layout tutorial

June 14th, 2010

One day, I was brushing my pearly whites and thought…

“Huh. That faucet handle is really pretty”.

From there I developed this tutorial featured on FaveCrafts, a site dedicated to developing the crafty crafter in you.

I remember moving into our current home (almost a year ago) and being amazed at how quickly I had forgotten details about our first home…the one we lived in for 7 years. Luckily, there are tons of photos to go back and relive the memories. But the details…did I capture the details?

I read a blog post a while back where the writer encouraged her readers to document the details of their homes…the good, the bad, the ugly. Because those things we walk past every day…they won’t last in our memories forever.

So check it out…there’s lots of room for variation and detailed step-by-step instructions.

Enjoy scrappers!

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new in the etsy shop: tree & halftone

June 5th, 2010

I mentioned before, my digital scrapbooking graphics are now on Etsy. Check out the latest additions:

“Tree“

“Halftone” photo embellishment

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sum summ summertime

May 28th, 2010

Its exactly 100 degrees outside right now. I think today was the day we hit triple digits. That can only mean two things: Summer’s here and school’s out!

I’m really quite happy about it this year. I’m ready for a break from science projects, nightly reading longs, coming up with creative lunches, and alarms going off at 6:15 a.m.

This summer I have plans to swim a lot, play a lot, relax a whole bunch, blog a little bit, and work even less. Yes, I won’t be around quite as much, but I’ll poke my head into the blogosphere enough to offer some product reviews and giveaway and let you know that I’m still alive. See, I have to soak up this time with them. If I don’t now, it will be too late…then.

But before I go, I have two huge announcements! Ok not huge but important enough to mention before I go put my bathing suite on for the Summer:

On my other blog, I’ve launched a new section called How To Blog: Video Tutor where I offer a whole library of blogging, photo editing and graphics tutorials. For a very small fee, you can download any video(s) you want on very practical topics such as adding links to your posts or creating a sidebar widget. I have a section on Photoshop Elements that I’ll be developing further as well. So if you have a blog and need some help, check it out!

My digital scrapbook graphics are now housed on Etsy and called Nicole Marie By Design. Because Etsy is awesome. (And a little more exposure is always nice too.)

So until next time, stay cool, love on those kiddos while you can, and happy scrapping!

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one girl’s system for organizing embellishments & stickers

May 27th, 2010

If there was ever anything else I’d want to be, it would be a professional organizer. I drool over baskets and boxes, shelves and label makers. I get a guilty little pleasure when I give something a home and find it there when I need it. (Yet, its a trait, I’m afraid, that has not yet passed down to my sweet children.)

I don’t know about you, but one of the struggles I have with scrapbooking is the constant need to stay organized. There are so many different elements involved and keeping them all tamed is quite a chore. Especially those loose things like stickers, embellishments and die cuts. Its enough to make a crazy OCD girl go a little bonkers.

So I’m always on the look out for a good solution. I still don’t know if I’ve found organizational utopia, but this system works for me…until I have a moment of enlightenment and invent the perfect product and make my millions.

This time its not a product on the market. Its my own, homemade solution. Check it out…

Here’s the link I mentioned for the 2-pocket photo sleeves.

So maybe that gives you some inspiration. Do you have your own, unique method of organizing your stuff? I’d love to hear what you do. Its a sickness; I know.

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a picture is worth…

May 22nd, 2010

Have you noticed this? Seems like a lot of scrapbook publications out there feature one, or maybe two, photo layouts. They’re usually like a 5×7 or larger size and they are the centerpiece of the page…as it should be.

I don’t know about you, but a lot of the scrapbookers I talk to don’t scrapbook this way. Usually, we’re trying to cram 47 pictures on one 12×12 layout. Its hard to narrow down a few good shots that still capture the emotion and impact of the memory we’re trying to create.

Maybe you are one of the “single” photo layout people. I have nothing against you…promise. I think its just a different philosophy, really. You’re capturing a memory while focusing more on the artistic, creative end. For me, a “multi” photo girl, I’m focusing on as many of the details of the memory I can while enhancing them with embellishments.

I appreciate publications like Creating Keepsakes giving tips on using multiple photos on some of their series. To me this is where more of us are…capturing real life in every day, candid photos.

What about you?

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meet the f.r.e.d. {giveaway}

May 14th, 2010

UPDATE: The winner of this giveaway is #88, Anara!

If you’re like me, you sit while you scrapbook (some people do stand…). And if you’re like me, when you sit, it creates an angle between your eye and your layout.

I first saw the F.R.E.D. from myscrappingbuddy.com at last year’s National Scrapbook Day and I thought, “How ingenious!”. The F.R.E.D. is an angled easel that makes scrapping easier and more comfortable. No more sour necks and constant standing to make sure your pictures are straight.

The F.R.E.D. comes with 8 magnets to keep everything in place and a removable metal base. The F.R.E.D. is also expandable and securely links together so you can have two, three or more connected for full page layouts.

Its portable too…I took mine to National Scrapbook Day (and used it all day long). It was easy to fold up and fit into my tote. It was a good sign when woman after women stopped by my table and said “Ooooh…what’s that??”.

Here’s my F.R.E.D. in action on National Scrapbook Day…

The F.R.E.D. is a high quality piece, made of real wood and sturdy metal and sells for $45 through the F.R.E.D. store.

Win It! Thanks to the generosity of the folks at myscrappingbuddy.com, one of my wonderful readers will win one F.R.E.D. of their very own! And not just any F.R.E.D….one made with elm edges instead of standard maple…a specialty wood upgrade. Sweet, no?

Here’s how to enter:

Comment on this post telling me how you scrap? Standing? Sitting? A little of both?
For extra entries, tweet about this giveaway up to once a day and/or subscribe to this blog. Need a tweet idea? Try this: “Have you met F.R.E.D.? No? You’ll want to…http://is.gd/caG5h @myapronstrings”
Entries must be made by Friday, May 28 at 11:59 p.m. MST.

Good luck cropaholics!

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confessions on The Paperlife & Tip Junkie {with giveaways!}

May 11th, 2010

Its a busy week here at Confessions of a Cropaholic. We’re being featured on two great sites!

Amy over at The Paper Life has been so kind to feature me in an interview today on her blog. Head over and listen to our little interview about blog design, scrapbooking and more. And, the best part…enter to win a $25 credit to my digi graphics shoppe or a design of a twitter page, blog button or business card!

Over on the Tip Junkie Community on the BlogFrog, there’s lots of great discussion going on about digital scrapbooking. Join in the conversion and enter to win a $35 credit to my digi graphics shoppe.

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how to colorize a black and white photo in photoshop elements

May 5th, 2010

Ever wanted to create that cool effect of adding color to one area of a black and white photo? Its easy…here’s how:

UPDATE: This video has been moved to the How to Blog: Video Tutor Library. You can purchase it here for $3.

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cropaholics in training: simple stories – life documented

April 30th, 2010

Update: The winner of this giveaway is #42, Donna K!

I think everyone has a “thang”. For some its cooking (not me). For some its exercising (not me either). And for others its their work. My thang is scrapbooking.

Its that thing that you devote a lot of time and focus to. It usually comes naturally and is enjoyed to the fullest.

But I would argue that scrapbooking in particular is different than most thangs. You don’t have to be born with creativity oozing from your pores. First of all, its a muscle that needs to be exercised to get stronger and better (and there goes my argument for not being a good runner…). Second, there are so many products out there that do the work for you so you can have a stunning layout in no time and with no stress.

I have so many friends who feel like creativity is just not their thang, but at the same time they long to have the results…beautiful pages and albums that showcase their special memories. If you’re one of those people, I might have a solution for you.

Simple Stories is a product created by Memory Works, a direct sales scrapbook company, that allows scrapbookers of all levels to share their story and photos in a simple yet meaningful way. The first kit created by Simple Stories is called Life Documented, a kit comprised of pre-designed cut apart elements in a variety of basic sizes.

Memory Works sent me a kit to review and it took my mere minutes to create a page. Take a look:

Nice huh?

The Simple Stories solution is great for all levels of scrapbookers. As a seasoned scrapbooker, I may not use the kit with the divided page protectors as my canvas, but I will sure use them in a layout that I design. Its just a very versatile system.

I images more kits coming in the future…maybe a baby, wedding, friendship themed kit. You can only get Simple Stories through a Memory Works consultant. They also sell products from companies like BasicGrey, Dear Lizzy, Bo Bunny and a whole lot more. You can find a consultant here. The Life Documented kit retails for only $16.99.

Win It! Since you’re such a smart girl and read Confessions of a Cropaholic, you have a chance to win a Life Document Kit & We R Memory Keepers Page Protectors Pack!

Here’s how to enter:

Comment on this post telling me what your thang is…scrapbooking? another craft? cooking? running? mothering?
For extra entries, tweet about this giveaway up to once a day and/or subscribe to this blog.
Entries must be made by Friday, May 14 at 11:59 p.m. MST.

Good luck cropaholics!