Lens

Unconventional source for embellishments?

My daughter is a big Hello Kitty fan and loved this pair of pajamas.  We seem to no longer have the top, only the bottoms, so rather than donate them, I decided to use dies and my Cuttlebug to make some cloth flowers to use on a future layout.  It was a little difficult to center HK's face in the center of the flower, but I'm happy with how they came out. 

Scrapbooking & CardmakingTrends

Current trends or products I like:

• The use of blocks of text or even music as backgrounds, with a caveat -- I don't like text that isn't appropriate for the project. 
• Gradient color -- I found the loveliest partially sheer ribbon that shades from a pale gold through orange to a gorgeous pink. 
• Vintage illustrations are nice and I'm a bit of a sucker for old stamps and old postcards.
• Thickers -- alphabet dimensional stickers from American Crafts -- the name drives me a little nuts because it makes me think of someone with a lisp saying "stickers," but I get that it's a combination of "thick" and "stickers".  I'll be buying some vinyl ones online in a school bus yellow-orange that will be so awesome on a scrapbook project I'll be starting soon and I've already picked up a set in a peachy rose pink for the same project.

Current trends or products I don't like:

• The fabric or ribbon with rows of little pom-poms hanging from it -- it reminds me of 1970's curtains
• Some vintage ephemera -- I don't get using something just because it's old.  If it doesn't tie in to the project in some way or isn't beautiful I don't like it.  
• Projects with so much stuff on them that it overpowers the pictures and the story

eBay & Michael's acquisitions (8/29 & 9/4/09)

Since I like to make cards and everyone has a birthday, I decided I needed birthday stamps.  I got a great deal on these Hero Arts Birthday Messages on eBay -- just over $5.00 including the shipping for something that retails for $15-16. 

At Michael's I decided to get another Halloween punch.  Obviously some of these aren't really for year-round use (although I have five years of Halloween pictures to scrapbook, come to think of it.) 

Today's Heidi Grace purchase was a couple of sheets of Baby Girl: New Arrival double-sided cardstock:

Since I only had black ink at home, I picked out a Stampology Autumn Leaves stamp pad in pink sapphire.  The package said it was specially formulated for use with clear stamps and I found out when I used it that it works well. 

And finally some sale items from the Martha Stewart area of the store.  I envision using these "library cards and envelopes" on fullsize scrapbook pages for journaling or as the major component of a minibook.  I think I'm most excited about the latter -- I visualize a picture on the left and this envelope & tag set on the right that you pull out to read.  (Probably comes from being a fan of Nick Bantock's books.)