Jul 7 2012
Q&A Saturday with Kristen Swain
Posted by: Kristen Swain · Edit
Hey all, Kristen here today with you for Q&A. Now, I have been scrapping for almost 15 years and I remember when I was starting out, the amount of products was so limited. 12×12 books were not available, and stickers were the only embellishments that were readily available. So I think this question is right up my alley!
QUESTION: If you were give a $1000 budget today to buy materials to SET UP your papercrafting hobby, what would you choose? ( aside from PC products of course)
WOW! Great question. I can think of some things right away. First I would take 1/4 of my budget and set myself up with some quality cardstock. Whatever brand you prefer, I do love me some American Crafts. I feel that cardstock is one of the most important items in a scrap room. And I like to have lots of colors too. Typically I use about 3-4 colors of cardstock on my projects, so having a multitude of colors is pretty important to me.
A good pair of scissors ( I like Fiskars with cushioned handles) and a good 12 inch cutter is mandatory. I have a small Carl cutter that is only about 4 inches wide. I prefer to be able to easily move my cutter around ( instead of moving to my cutter) so having a small one is best for me.
Adhesive- running out of adhesive is one of the worst things to happen when you are on a creative roll. So having and keeping up a good stash of adhesive is important. I also like a variety of adhesives: a roller ( I use Glue Arts High Tac and Perma) a liquid glue ( Tombow multi) and adhesive dots are my three basic needs. Having a diamond glaze for glitter is helpful too if you feel that you will be a real glitter user as well.
Those are my super basic needs. From there, I would recommend some patterned paper kits, your favorite brands, maybe three or four kits to start. Think about this though, you may have a favorite manufacturer but do you create well with their brand? I LOVE some manufacturers out there, but their papers are not easy for me to work with, the themes might be a bit to vintage for me, or their papers too bold for my tastes. So chose papers at first that are more subtle with designs, simple dots, stripes, prints that are smaller, are easier to incorporate into everyday projects then very themed or bold prints. These more subtle papers will give you more ‘bang for your buck” allowing you to incorporate scraps into more projects and therefore using up those more expensive papers.
I would also suggest a nice quality album, with plenty of page protectors, as you scrap your layouts, you can show them off to your family. I also acknowledge that some crafts are card or project makers, so this wouldn’t be for you. For card makers- I suggest a set of card blanks and quality envelopes, and project crafters some basic shapes in paper mache or wood.
I suggest a couple favorite colors in stamp inks, these can be used for more then stamping, you can age or color images with the pads as well. Black Staz-On and cleaner as well, is my favorite because it can be used on many surfaces.
Some inexpensive ribbons, buttons, brads, and craft store flower stems ( you’ll take them off the stems and remove all the plastic parts) are a good inexpensive addition.
Color can be added with watercolor pencils, sharpie type markers or acrylic paints. With all three of these costing about $10 or less for a set, you can add a lot to your work with not a lot of money, and they can last several years.
A black pen is a must, to write and detail images.
Clear glitter- you can add a touch of sparkle to ANY color project.
Corrugated cardboard- most of the time it’s free ( think USPS boxes, food boxes and shipping boxes) and a little bit of paint goes a LONG way.
A few sets of stamps with some basic shapes ( hearts, flowers, standard greetings) as generic as it sounds, those are typically the stamps you’ll get the most use from.
I would also invest in some storage from any money left over from this simple beginning. Storage is one of the most talked about, necessary items you will ever need. Some bead boxes work well for small items, large 2 gallon bags can work well for scraps storage, and pages in progress. and 12×12 totes can hold your papers and cardstock.
That is my basic list- aside from my PC products- which would be a much bigger list, but I wanted to share a fun and super cheap project with you today.
Do you what these are? those flat magnets that you get in the mail, or with your phone book. They are ugly but we can fix that and you can create your own custom magnets that you will love to have on your fridge!
I used my deep cut blade, set at 6 to cut. My Cricut Expression Machine set on low speed and max pressure. Then I just had to figure out what I wanted to create.
I decided to create some bees, their hive, a couple clouds and sun, happy images for my fridge.
After cutting out my images with the magnets, I simply switched back to a regular blade and cut out the shapes again in black cardstock. I used a strong liquid glue to adhere the cardstock to the magnet front. You could peel off the laminate covering, but a good glue will keep the cardstock on well.
Then just cut out details and adhere your images together. I used a few embossing folders for dimension on my shapes, and finished with a couple flowers and buttons.
Create your own magnets to match your kitchen, or any theme. These work perfectly to dress up your fridge for a holiday or party! You can also buy magnetic material from Cricut.com and create a ton of magnets for gift giving!
Designed by: Kristen Swain
Cricut Machines Used: Cricut Expression Electronic Cutting Machine, Cricut Craft Room, Cuttlebug Machine
Cricut Cartridges Used: Create a Critter
Cuttlebug Embossing Folders Used: D’Vine Swirls, Mesh, Simply Charmed Cuttlebug Companion
Other Supplies Used: Magnets, Cardstock (American Crafts), Buttons, Twine, Adhesive
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