Thrifty Thursday: The Day time stood Still

I decided in the beginning of this year not to buy any more papers and embellishments until I downsize my studio. I had way too many papers from old collections that I love and just couldn't part with them. So I am using them. It has been a breath of fresh air to find new ways to use them. I have been incorporating them to more artistic and free style scrapbooking and it has been so much fun.

Here is a layout I just finished last week.

All the papers used are old... maybe 5 to 6 years old. Some are from Walmart and some from a QVC kit I purchased. could you tell??

I drew some flowers on a brick colored paper and then cut it out. I then stamped some white prima flowers I had on hand and added some orange brads for color. There!! My own customized flowers. I talked about how to customize your letters HERE or how to distress brads and eyelets HERE. 

Some plain old white acrylic paint brushed on the background and then sprinkled on it made for a sure artistic and shabby look. 

So here is my Thrifty Thursday tip: use your old papers to their advantage. For example, if the paper is vintagy and has vintage image on them, cut them out and use them as embellishments. If the papers are colorful use strips or small pieces of it to bring color to your layout. Are the papers too busy?? cut them into strips and make flowers out of them or punch out circles and create your own background.




There is so much out there and I just can't afford it all. So I am revamping my old papers. How about you? What do you do with old collections?

For more Thirfty Thursdays come HERE.


Be blessed,

Tereza

Thrifty Thursday: storage for my ribbons!!

**** This is a re-post from my other blog that has been put on hold*****

Check out the BLOG CANDY on the side bar!!!

The other day I was trying to organize my craft room. It used to be my dining room now it is our library/ craft room/ study room. 

I needed a place to store my ribbons. I have so many spools and I thought maybe I could hang a rod on the wall and store them there. My DH (he is wonderful) made a big fuss about making holes on the wall and what rod to get and blah blah blah.


I realized it was going to be a big problem and I would have to wait a while before I got my storage solution. So... I just put my brain to work and came up with this.





I used an old bulky piece of Styrofoam I had in my closet where I store my boxes and shipping supplies. I covered it with a piece of fabric and stuck some bamboo kabob sticks in it. Then I organized my spools by type and size. To finish it up I covered it up with another piece of fabric to keep it safe from the dust.

There is a saying in Brazil that says "If you don't have a dog to hunt with, you hunt with a cat." Can you translate that into an English saying??

Now, it may not look the best but it solved my storage problem. :) Hey, the day my studio looks like something out of a magazine, it will probably BE in a magazine. LOL

Next week, I will try to share some photos of my Studio. You can see my all finished up and messy "studio" HERE.  You might remember my husband made me a new table. You can see the Before pictures here.

How do you store your ribbons??? Thanks for stopping by,
Tereza

Thrifty Thursday: customizing your letters!

Thrifty Thursday was born to boost my creativity using what I had in hand. Like most crafters I have way too many supplies that I don't really put to good use. So instead of purchasing a new tool or an embellishment I am using what I have at home. So share your insights.... here is my tip for this week.

Last week I created a layout for my DD3 on a whim. As I was laying out the papers, flowers and photos I realized that the chipboard letters I had were not going to work. So I customized them.

I used white chipboard letters and with a black pen I doodled on them. Then I used the markers I had on hand, nothing fancy or expensive like Copics (hey, if you got them, use them!) and colored my doodles.

Then to make it look funkier and thrown together, I used an old book as the background for more letters. I used a permanent markers and drew my own letters, cut then out and adhered to the layout.

I don't usually make resolutions in the beginning of the year, but in an informal way, I have decided not purchase any more papers or embellishments until I cut my supplies in half. I have found that this decision has forced me to become more creative and I have found new uses for old supplies.

How do you use your old supplies? Do you have a favorite supply that you haven't used in a while? Did you like this week's tip? For more check out all Thrifty Thursday's posts here.

Be blessed,

Tereza

The Thrifty Scrapper: How to make a Scrapbook Wedding Album

A while back I shared about the Scrapbook Wedding Album that I made on a budget. We used a Martha Stewart Wedding kit that my sister in law had previously purchased at Walmart. I think she paid less than $20.00 for it. It was on sale. On that previous post, on the link above, I shared some of the pages with the bride's wedding photos on them.

As promised, below you can see the video where I share all 20 pages before they were delivered to the bride. In the video, I share what I used and how we cut corners and used what we had on hand. Please excuse my fidgeting with the camera, blinds and pages, as well as the children's noise in the background. I have a busy household. :)

I hope to inspire you to think outside the box and that even if you don't have the money, you can still make beautiful creations and memorable keepsakes! Enjoy!




How have you creatively used your own resources lately?

Have a blessed week, :)

Tereza

Thrifty Thursday: how to function with a fussy baby!

Baby is teething. We had a fussy night and I never got to the computer to publish my Thrifty Thursday post.

So I am sharing with you a post I did a while back about how to re-purpose your old stamps. If you haven't seen the post yet, then this is your change to and also to subscribe to my blog or follow me to keep up with Thrifty Thursday where I share techniques to re-vamp your art using what you already have at home. No new purchases necessary!!!

If you have already seen the post, I say go check it out again anyway, it might get you out of a rut, if you are stuck for creativity. Or it might remind you of some great stamps you have stocked away that you haven't used in a while. So here it is:

NEW STAMPS USING YOUR OLD STAMPS

 ok, back to taking care of baby. :)

Be blessed,

Tereza

Thrifty Thursday: making it shabby with acrylic paint!

This is our first Thrifty Thursday. The idea is to share with you a technique that does NOT require new scrapbook supplies or tools, but can be done using what most of us already have at home.

Today I want to share with you how to make something look old, vintage, shabby or distressed looking. A while back I finished a custom order for 2 vintage scrapbook albums for 2 brothers. Here is a sneak peak of the first album. I wanted to achieve a fun, distressed, old look without making the albums feminine at all. So I decided to use paint - white acrylic paint. I found it is the best way to make something look shabby.

Now you don't need any special tools to apply your paint and any acrylic paint will do. But because acrylic paint is rather thick it can be very tricky to use it on rubber or acrylic stamps. They tend to get all sticky and you can't see much of the detail of the stamps, unless it is a big one or a foam stamp but that's another post.

I used two simple tools for my technique. I used water bottle caps and medicine measuring cups to make the white circles on my latest album. I also used my finger to dab the white paint around the edges of my album. I tried using a make up sponge but I liked the result of using my fingers better. I was going for a messy, smeared look.



First squeeze some paint on a paper plate and spread it flat like you would icing on a cake, then use the cap and cup to start stamping. Don't worry about perfect prints, you are going for shabby, not perfect prints. You will have some circles thicker, with missing pieces to the circle, others lighter. the paint dries really quickly too.

 

The first photo on this post is an example of the result of this technique. You can see the complete result on Carson's album HERE and Camden's album HERE.

You can use other tools with this same technique. Try using bubble wraps, the end of pencils, a sponge, a paper crinkled into a ball or anything else you can think of and already have at home.

On the card below I smeared the edges with white paint.



Here is an example using green paint and bubble wrap.



How do you use acrylic paint? Would love to hear about your results and your discoveries.

I wish you a Happy New Year!!! Until next Thursday, stay thrifty and crafty. :)

Be blessed,

Tereza

A new route.

I have decided to devote more time to my children. Besides my husband, I am their only caregiver and spend 24 hours with them. We homeschool and I truly enjoy having them at home but....

I have recently noticed that I was getting stressed and sidetracked with my scrapping and it was not doing our relationship any good. So, I am, once again, prioritizing. :) If you have followed my blog you know I have done this in the past.

I am re-organizing my blogs and I will keep everything here. I will be posting Thrifty Thursday here, Unschooling posts, useful daily tips, as well as my bridal cards and any other treasured creations here. I think keeping everything in one blog will help me.

If you are coming over from my other blogs I hope you will keep coming back. :) I have some new cards I made for Operation Write Home that I want to share with you as well as some layouts and techniques, so do come back. :)

Now, if you would like a custom order of something. Just email me. I will be happy to work with you. :)

Have a great week and blessings,

PS Sweet baby on the above layout is my niece. This was one of the many layouts I got to make for her when my parents were here last. :)


Tereza

Breastfeeding on demand...

I got my hands full with J. who is 4 mo. old. I have some fun posts coming but tonight I can only upload a few cards. :)






Check out The Thrifty Scrapper for a tutorial on a new custom album I am making.

thanks for stopping by,

Tereza

Thrifty Thursday and my new YouTube channel!

Hey everyone,

I have been so busy! I just got a new custom order for another Word Album and I am hoping to be able to share the how to of it here. :) Yes, isn't that exciting?! I got a YouTube account so you can go check it out HERE and see all the videos I have already uploaded there.

You can also check Thrifty Thursday every week to see a technique or a tip that will not bankrupt your wallet or bank account or credit card! ha! LOL

Today I am sharing how to make your own flowers with what you got!


I am also making a ton of cards for Operation Write Home! This is an awesome organization and you should join in and make some cards too. Here is a video showing off some of the cards I made.




There's still time to make some Father's Day Cards, so be sure to join in.

Would you leave a comment so I know you stopped by? Have a blessed week!

Tereza

Sneak peek of my Shabby cards!

Today is Thrifty Thursday over at TheThriftyScrapper. Hop over there to see what you can make with the stuff you already got!!

But before you do that, here is a sneak peek at some vintage cards I made on Tuesday night. I will be sharing one of my greatest challenge creating these on next week's Thrifty Thursday. So be sure to follow my blogs.





I hope to have inspired you today! Be blessed,

Tereza

Beware of the Bengal Tiger!

Did you know I homeschool? Yes, I get to spend all day with my 4 blessings.

We are trying some new classes this Spring. We are doing Science and Art together at home. So this past Tuesday we studied about the Bengal Tiger. As part of the study everyone gets to draw the animal we are studying and the ones that know how to write will write down characteristics of the animal and other information they want to remember.

Here is my 7 year old's take on the Bengal Tiger. I thought she was very creative and unique at how she saw the tiger.



here's my 4 year old's drawing. The animal is definitely fierce. Don't you think?



here's mine. I tried to duplicate what I saw on the book. So not original! :( My 2 year old helped me color it though. :)



Now if you would like to try your creativity without leaving home with what you got at home you need to head to my other blog for Thrifty Thursday.

Love to hear your comments.

Be blessed,
Tereza