More beans

The MoonBeans were meant to be something I do for fun, for myself. Somehow the colorful beans grew up very fast into these cute things that people want to have. They can take any pattern, color and about three sizes, and they do not mind to look just as their owners want then to. I do not know where this road will take me, but one thing I know: for the next two years I should not worry for Christmas or birthday gifts for my girlfriends.

Here are some more beans:

Fast forward

Somebody has pressed the fast forward button. Another year is over and 2013 was quite a year for me. I started a lot of projects, I rolled over some from past years and I did finish one or two. A big, big thank you to all the crafty ladies on YouTube and their words of wisdom. The MoonBean project kept me busy more than a full time job, and the adventure is not over yet. The Valentines requests are in and I have about a week to make it happen. Add to it some other special requests and I am off to a busy start in the new year. "May the odds be in my favor!"
What happen while I was away from my blog:

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Hope this works and you can see my latest experiments in the fabulous world of beads. Since my laptop is going through some hot flashes I had to work fast at this album, hence spelling errors and miss-alignments.

End in sight

I feel like I have not been doing much lately. That is until something I am working on is finally finished. How I got to like this 'finish' word. No words can express how happy I am of how the moon bean turned out, so I will let the photos speak for them.
My first moon bean necklace.

 Bunch of bracelets.

Wanted more hours in a day

My paper crafts finally arrived. Yesterday it was all about them. Unpacking, organizing and finding a place for all my stuff took me half a day. It was good because is something I like to do, it was not so good because it cut into my time of painting beads. Today it will be all about beads; and tomorrow also, and the day after that. Hope my papers and embellishments won't be too upset about this neglect they had to endure since the beginning of June. Until I will finally get time to scrapbook, here are some more Moon Beans that just want to be pretty and smile for the camera.

Meet Victoria Rose and Five bean chilly waiting to become bracelets and then set sail to see a friend in the US.

Holidays and days off

Yes, the packages that should have been here on the fifteen are not here. Yet. No big deal, it was a holiday in this country. And since Thursday was off, why not let people have Friday off too since the weekend was just another day away.
More time for me to practice my new learned hobby. Here there are some patterns I though looked cute on beads. From left to right resting in some jewelry boxes are the Tracy pattern, the "love you to the moon" and my first ever Lovely clouds.

Some green beads at my mom request. This patter is called Daisy. This small batch will become a bracelet for one of the ladies from my church group. There are about twelve lovely ladies in this group so expect eleven more patterns in the next three weeks. 

On one of the beads I wrote "Moon Bean" but more abut that in my next post.

Impatient

Being patient is a good thing. But sometimes not being patient is just as good. My scrapbook supplies and papers are still on the road and my mind and hands need something to do.
Luckily, one of my crafty friends came to rescue me from death by boredom. She made the beautiful clay bead earrings you see in the background. She is not only talented but also patient enough to teach me how to make these beads.
One day, last week, we shopped for the clay. Latter that day I made my first beads. This evening I decided that the first batch was dry. The lack of paints, varnish and hardware supplies did not stopped me from trying my hand at decorating. I used some washi tape, glossy accents and some copper wire to dress up my first ever bead. I named it Lovely clouds. It had pink hearts and white clouds on a pale teal background. 

Now I hope I'll have patience to decorate enough for a whole necklace.

While I am waiting

Lately I have been doing a little bit of traveling and no scrapbooking. I have not transferred all the photos I took from my camera to my computer but I dread the moment because I take too many pictures. It is either many shots of the same thing or many attempts to capture something that, to be honest, it is outside of my camera's abilities. So I end up with ten photos of the some flower, about five self portraits of me and some friend/relative and at least a dozen of some blurry landscape captured through the dusty windshield of the moving car. Selecting the right picture to print and scrap is half of the scrapbooking work, or it is for me. If I would only have one perfect photo... One time I did and this layout came out in less than hour:

In the Beginning... (3)

While my first album is safely transported across the ocean with the rest of my craft goodies, I stumbled upon some snapshots of somewhat finished layouts.
No matter how hard I try, the hoarder in me wins. Another five photos on one page. Tough habit to break...

Fighting for food?! Some layouts are all about the photos, no need for embellishments. No butterflies or glitter can make these guys look better; and they are not gear and grunge people either.

 Part A of a double spread I envisioned long time ago (about two years). Part B still a work in progress.

 Finally three photos per page.

 But it did not last for long. What can I say, I had a little to many photos with birds. Now I can see at least 3 layouts with these photos.At least I am learning something...

Speaking of firsts...

I am not much of a card sender, or card maker for that matter. If it wasn't for BoBunny designer call I would have never attempted to make even a thank you note using my supplies. I did buy a magazine on card making, and I watched plenty YouTube videos on cards yet my interest was still at flat line. One of my explanation for this lack of interest is the absence of a photo. Most of my albums and layouts are greatly inspired by the content, theme and especially the colors in the picture I try to highlight. Without further rumbling on the subject, here it is my very first card:

 

BoBunny Coral Vintage dot

BoBunny Enchanted 6x6 pattern paper

Recollections orange card stock

Studio g stamp

Black ink

Acrylic paints mixed to match the coral paper

Several X-Acto templates for the hearts and borders

Scalloped scissors

Runner dots and foam tape 

 

In the beginning... (2)

So my first ever project is still a work in progress. I do not know why some albums just do not want to get themselves together. Then, I look over my photos and it seems I need to buy another set of page protectors. Will see how that is going to work out. Here are some pages that are somewhat done.

Another attempt to a double page. I had the red dot paper left over from another project and I like it well enough to make it a part of this album.

Not vacation is complete without a stack of maps, brochures and other memorabilia; and, since I cannot commit to cut into it, I end up glue it down on a page and call it day.

Another one of my first pages, with part of the church bulletin. I had no plan in mind when I started the page and in the end the elements are somewhat disconnected.

Another attempt to a double page. I especially liked these photos and I had no idea how to add papers and embellishments without taking the attention away from them.

And, of course, another crowded page. I thought that more photos per page would help me finish this album faster, instead it became a huge challenge. Note to self: three photos on one page is enough.

Just because I started to pack my crafts away for the summer, I do not have to stop making mini albums. So here it is

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In the beginning...

There was this trip we took to see a friend who moved to Texas. I planned the whole thing two months in advance. It was a road trip: two days to get there, two days to get back, and diving somewhere new around Dallas almost every day. The weather was great and the traffic surprisingly pleasant with no major delays. We got to see all the places we planned to visit and then some extra. All in all, I ended up with over 1000 pictures, some taken with the camera, some on the tablet and some on the cellphone. Once home, I started to sort them out, edit and I finally ended up with a decent number of photos for my scrapbook.

The first page came together in no time, and I was impressed by what I was able to make. This was my first ever 12x12 page.

Now that I am in the middle of the project I can see some flaws to it. I wonder how will I feel about it at the end of the project.

Sometimes I just try to cram to many photos in one layout and this is what happens:

This page needs a title and a journal, and I do not know why I worry about adding them, how much more unbalanced and messy can it look?!

Then I tried to create double layouts and this came up:

 Again, I loved it, until I made the next double layout.

 I know it is in need of embellishments and writing, but I feel I am on the right track.

And now one of my favorite and best layouts (best in my opinion, and for now, of course):

That is it for today. There should be seven more posts about my very first 12x12 album. Hopefully with less what not to do on a layout and more favorite pages.

About a year later...

My mom is my biggest fan. If I make something for someone and she happens to see it, she will gently hint that she wants a mini album or a painting, too. I should start making everything in pairs to spare her the waiting time. It took me a year to put this album together for her, but it turned out better than my previous one. So here it is...

It all started with the color choice: Orange. Bo Bunny's Vintage Dot - orange was the perfect shade and pattern. Other papers I used were from DCWV Timeless Type, Recollections card stock and other scraps from collections long passed.

The album has vertical and horizontal pockets. If I would just conquer my fear of cropping, my photos might fit the page a little better and I would not end up gluing my pocket shut. Regardless, I ended up with a narrow tag that turned out nice.

My mom was in luck, Timeless Type had a few nasturtiums flowers (her favorite) and I made sure they end up in her album.

 

I probably should have added more embellishments, but sometimes I just have to move to the next page, and then I never come back to add some. 

I do not know if there is a rule about scrapping black and white photos and color photos next to each other. I should have researched it before I glued the photos down.

 

Mom, I hope you like it and I can't wait for you to see it in person since the photos cannot capture its cuteness and all the details. 

It all started with one successful project. 

I have seen many YouTube videos on how to make a mini album and I have heard those talented ladies saying many times, "this is easy". Then I found this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhlazmneL3I made by the Bo Bunny team and I had to try it out. And, since I am not very good at following directions and measurements, my mini album came out a little different.

1. Instead of a 12x12, I went with the biggest card stock I could find 22x22

2. Then I folded and glued, over and under, over and under, just like they said in the video

3. After it dried for a day, the fun began

4. From leftover card stock I made the cover

5. And there were tags, and paper coordinating with the bride's colors, and wedding styles and some kind words and sweet messages.

And just like in fairy tales, three days and three night later, the album was done. I looked at it over and over and I knew two things, it will not be the last one I'll make and it will be really hard to give it away.