By Christina VanGinkel
How many times have you reached for an inkpad that you paid top dollar for and have only used once or twice to find it dry as a bone? Or opened up a bottle or applicator of glue and you cannot believe it feels empty, because you know you just bought it? Not to mention embellishments and paper that go out of style before you even reach the bottom of the pack, sometimes before you even open them.
For this last issue, one of the best pieces of advice I ever received when it comes to buying craft supplies in general, is to ask yourself is you are buying something because you have a use for it, really like it, or just because it is the newest craze? Scrappers can be a very social group of crafters, and it is easy to fall prey to the buy factor of those around you. Do not buy a whole line of papers or even a single sheet, because someone else likes it. Buy a whole line or that single sheet because you like it, or you know it will complement such and such a picture perfectly. The same holds true for tools. Die cutting machines for example are an expense that some scrappers and crafters qualify by the sheer volume of projects they create. If you are a casual scrapper, and have a tight budget, if you end up creating one or two titles a year with such a machine, consider how expensive each of those would be if you considered in the cost of the machine and dies before plunking down that cash just because everyone else you know has one.
I also cannot tell you how many times I have been tempted to buy a whole pack of paper because I liked one of the patterns in it. Single sheets of paper may cost more than paper by the pack, but unless you are going to use the majority of the sheets in a pack, consider how much the sheets you do use will cost you if you break them down by the overall cost. For example, if you pay ten dollars for a pack of twenty-five sheets of 12 x 12 patterned papers, the overall cost equals 40 cents a sheet. However, if you only ultimately use ten sheets of that paper, that 40 cents a sheet skyrockets to one dollar a sheet if you break the cost down to only those sheets of paper you used. Sure, you could trade those unused sheets with a friend or at a crop, or even sell them on a site such as Ebay, but the average scrapbook devotee or crafter will most likely leave those fifteen sheets of unused paper in a stack in their craft room, never doing anything with them. Some extra paper is nice, but pack after pack is just a waste, both in money spent and space used to store it.
I also combat the wasted paper syndrome by buying in bulk with at least one other person. In my case, this is usually with my daughter. We will split evenly whatever it is we buy that comes in a size package that is more than one of us will use. This applies to packs of paper and embellishments. We also share several tools this way, including a Wishblade die cutting machine. We split the cost, and just swap the tools back and forth as needed. This should only be done with somebody that you know it will not cause more issues with than good though.
Inkpads can be dry from the minute you open them. Because of this, buy from local dealers or stores, or from a company that backs their inkpads with a warranty, such as the one offered by the Stampin' Up Company. They offer a guarantee that their products will be free from manufacturing defects for a period of 90 days after the shipping date. If you are shopping out of town, open any inkpads you purchase before heading home. If there is a problem with them, return them immediately. Once you get your inkpads home, storing them upside down will help keep the ink at the top of the pad. I also keep mine in a Ziploc style bag to keep them as airtight as possible, which helps keep them from drying out prematurely.
I have not found a tried and true solution to applicators of craft glue drying out other than I also store them in Ziploc style bags. Make sure that covers are on tight. Pen style applicators often come with caps that need to be twisted on and if you just snap the lid on without taking the time to twist them shut as the caps were intended, this too will lead to prematurely drying out.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Make your own Rub-Ons for Scrapbooking and Paper Crafting
By Christina VanGinkel
If you have ever wanted to place a title or image on a layout, but the layout was of a size that it would not fit in your printer, or you had wanted to use a rub-on, but could not find the one you wanted, make your own! If you have a computer with an inkjet printer, a simple graphics program or word processor, and a blank transparency, all you need to do is add a popsicle stick to the mix and you will have everything you need to make your own transparencies whenever and of whatever you want.
The process is actually quite simple. Basically, you print on the wrong side, or glossy side, of a transparency in reverse, allow to dry thoroughly, and apply the same as you would any other rub-on.
For those of you, who need a bit more direction, follow along and before you know it, you will be making all the transparencies you could ever need or want.
NOTE: I have heard that this same process will work in a laser printer, but I have not tried it so cannot vouch for that process. I would recommend to those who wish to try it with their laser printer, to be sure that they only use a transparency sheet that is made for a laser printer, as a laser printer becomes warm and the wrong transparency could melt, ruining your printer.
Pick up a pack of transparencies that are made for use in an inkjet printer. Next, in a graphics program or word processing program such as Microsoft word, choose or design your title or graphic. This can be color or black. For the first couple that you make, I would recommend that you choose a somewhat simple design just for the sake of ease when applying it to your layout or project that you plan to use it on.
Once you have your title or graphic ready on screen, determine if your printer has a reverse printing option, otherwise you will need to flip the title or graphic in the program it was made in. If you do not flip it or print it in reverse through the printer setting, any text you print will be backwards when applied. Reversing a graphic might not be an issue, especially if the graphic is symmetrical from the front or back, but if you plan to make many of your own rub-ons, it might be best to get in the habit of reversing or flipping them all, so you do not forget this step when it is important.
Be sure your printer's print quality is set to its highest or best setting. This will assure that an optimum amount of ink is applied during the printing process and will guarantee that the finished rub-on will be as good a quality as you could make.
Once you have double-checked the image or text is flipped or will be printed in reverse and the print quality is set to the highest level, place your transparency in your printer wrong side up. A transparency consists of two sides, one a bit rougher than the other. This would normally be the side you would print on, but not when you are making your own rub-ons. You will want to print on the smooth side.
When it comes out of the printer, be sure you do not touch the text or image as it will be wet and will stay wet much longer than you would think. Avoid touching it, as it will smear quite easily. If you hold the transparency on its edge and look at it, you will be able to see the wetness, To check it for dryness, look at it the same way as tempting as it might be to touch it to check it for dryness. Place it somewhere to dry where it will not fall to the floor or risk having anything set on it by accident.
Once it is dry, apply it face down where you want to use it, and with the rounded edge of the popsicle stick, rub the backside of the transparency until it is moved from the transparency to the paper. Wipe the transparency clean, and it can be reused many times.
If you have ever wanted to place a title or image on a layout, but the layout was of a size that it would not fit in your printer, or you had wanted to use a rub-on, but could not find the one you wanted, make your own! If you have a computer with an inkjet printer, a simple graphics program or word processor, and a blank transparency, all you need to do is add a popsicle stick to the mix and you will have everything you need to make your own transparencies whenever and of whatever you want.
The process is actually quite simple. Basically, you print on the wrong side, or glossy side, of a transparency in reverse, allow to dry thoroughly, and apply the same as you would any other rub-on.
For those of you, who need a bit more direction, follow along and before you know it, you will be making all the transparencies you could ever need or want.
NOTE: I have heard that this same process will work in a laser printer, but I have not tried it so cannot vouch for that process. I would recommend to those who wish to try it with their laser printer, to be sure that they only use a transparency sheet that is made for a laser printer, as a laser printer becomes warm and the wrong transparency could melt, ruining your printer.
Pick up a pack of transparencies that are made for use in an inkjet printer. Next, in a graphics program or word processing program such as Microsoft word, choose or design your title or graphic. This can be color or black. For the first couple that you make, I would recommend that you choose a somewhat simple design just for the sake of ease when applying it to your layout or project that you plan to use it on.
Once you have your title or graphic ready on screen, determine if your printer has a reverse printing option, otherwise you will need to flip the title or graphic in the program it was made in. If you do not flip it or print it in reverse through the printer setting, any text you print will be backwards when applied. Reversing a graphic might not be an issue, especially if the graphic is symmetrical from the front or back, but if you plan to make many of your own rub-ons, it might be best to get in the habit of reversing or flipping them all, so you do not forget this step when it is important.
Be sure your printer's print quality is set to its highest or best setting. This will assure that an optimum amount of ink is applied during the printing process and will guarantee that the finished rub-on will be as good a quality as you could make.
Once you have double-checked the image or text is flipped or will be printed in reverse and the print quality is set to the highest level, place your transparency in your printer wrong side up. A transparency consists of two sides, one a bit rougher than the other. This would normally be the side you would print on, but not when you are making your own rub-ons. You will want to print on the smooth side.
When it comes out of the printer, be sure you do not touch the text or image as it will be wet and will stay wet much longer than you would think. Avoid touching it, as it will smear quite easily. If you hold the transparency on its edge and look at it, you will be able to see the wetness, To check it for dryness, look at it the same way as tempting as it might be to touch it to check it for dryness. Place it somewhere to dry where it will not fall to the floor or risk having anything set on it by accident.
Once it is dry, apply it face down where you want to use it, and with the rounded edge of the popsicle stick, rub the backside of the transparency until it is moved from the transparency to the paper. Wipe the transparency clean, and it can be reused many times.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
A Comic Book Collector
Much like many couples, when I first met and married my husband, there were things about him I simply did not know until after we were married. Most of the things were just little habits or nuances about his personality that really were no big deal. One of the things, however, was his collection (I call it an obsession) with comic books. It seems my darling husband began collecting comic books at about the age of twelve. When I married him, he was twenty-seven, and still collecting, very proud of the fact that he had been collecting for a total of fifteen years. My husband was in the Navy when we first got married, and he spent between ten and twenty dollars each week going to the local comic book store in the various towns in which we lived. He had special white boxes, about the size of shoe boxes, only taller, that were made especially for storing comic books. Not only that, but each and every comic, after he had read it, was put into a special plastic sleeve that would protect it as it spent the rest of its life in one of the many white boxes.
At first, I thought it was sort of cute how every Thursday afternoon, after the new comics arrived at the local store, he would come home with his bag of comics and read them diligently. I recognized many of the names of the characters: the Hulk, Superman, the Fantastic Four. He introduced me to the ones I had never heard of: the X-men, and various others. There were times when money was a bit tight, but the comic books were always, without fail, part of our budget. It was simply something that was part of our lives. Twice my husband left for 6-month deployments with the Navy, and during the duration of the deployment, dutiful wife that I am, I visited the comic book store once a week, picked out my husbands favorite comic books and sent them to him in care packages once a month. I got to know the owner of the store and I found that my husband was not the only adult who collected comic books. In fact, it seemed that more adults were collecting than kids. This was fascinating to me.
As the years passed, the comic books kept coming. As the children came, my husband educated them on the importance of the comic book characters and how we can learn from them. He bought the children X-men and Hulk figurines and tried to get our son interested in collecting. Our son is now nineteen-years-old, but never seemed to latch on to the hobby like his dad. Whenever a comic book movie came out, we were the first ones in the theater to see it, and I have come to have an appreciation for the movies and the characters, because I have an expert who sits next to me as we watch the movie; he keeps me informed about the history of the characters, the sometimes hidden meanings behind issues they face, and of course he points out when something is not quite accurate. Our biggest inside joke is to watch one of the "less than accurate" comic book movies and point out how unrealistic it is.
I will never completely understand the hold these comic book heroes have on my husband. I know he is a romantic at heart and today, well into his 40s, he is still visiting the local comic book store every week. We have one entire closet filled with boxes of comic books. About once a year, he takes many of them out and re-reads them or re-organizes them. I have learned that the comic stories my husband reads are more like graphic soap operas with very real and sometimes tragic themes. These are not the funny books of the past, but a very clear parallel to what is going on in our society today. Comic book collecting is more than just a hobby of collecting colorful books; it is keeping up with an awareness of what is going on around us politically, socially, and culturally.
Yet, I do not know what we are going to do in a few years when we run out of closet space. Maybe the comic book heroes will help us?
At first, I thought it was sort of cute how every Thursday afternoon, after the new comics arrived at the local store, he would come home with his bag of comics and read them diligently. I recognized many of the names of the characters: the Hulk, Superman, the Fantastic Four. He introduced me to the ones I had never heard of: the X-men, and various others. There were times when money was a bit tight, but the comic books were always, without fail, part of our budget. It was simply something that was part of our lives. Twice my husband left for 6-month deployments with the Navy, and during the duration of the deployment, dutiful wife that I am, I visited the comic book store once a week, picked out my husbands favorite comic books and sent them to him in care packages once a month. I got to know the owner of the store and I found that my husband was not the only adult who collected comic books. In fact, it seemed that more adults were collecting than kids. This was fascinating to me.
As the years passed, the comic books kept coming. As the children came, my husband educated them on the importance of the comic book characters and how we can learn from them. He bought the children X-men and Hulk figurines and tried to get our son interested in collecting. Our son is now nineteen-years-old, but never seemed to latch on to the hobby like his dad. Whenever a comic book movie came out, we were the first ones in the theater to see it, and I have come to have an appreciation for the movies and the characters, because I have an expert who sits next to me as we watch the movie; he keeps me informed about the history of the characters, the sometimes hidden meanings behind issues they face, and of course he points out when something is not quite accurate. Our biggest inside joke is to watch one of the "less than accurate" comic book movies and point out how unrealistic it is.
I will never completely understand the hold these comic book heroes have on my husband. I know he is a romantic at heart and today, well into his 40s, he is still visiting the local comic book store every week. We have one entire closet filled with boxes of comic books. About once a year, he takes many of them out and re-reads them or re-organizes them. I have learned that the comic stories my husband reads are more like graphic soap operas with very real and sometimes tragic themes. These are not the funny books of the past, but a very clear parallel to what is going on in our society today. Comic book collecting is more than just a hobby of collecting colorful books; it is keeping up with an awareness of what is going on around us politically, socially, and culturally.
Yet, I do not know what we are going to do in a few years when we run out of closet space. Maybe the comic book heroes will help us?
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