The Avid Scrapper

Monday, February 4, 2008

New Cartridges!

Richard and the girls got me early Valentine's Day presents and I am so excited to start using them! I have wanted these cartridges for my Cricut Expressions since they were released last fall. Check out all of the great images I can cut for pages now. This doesn't even include all of the little extras included with each image like Cinderella's slipper or Mulan's fan.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

New Paper For February's Class!

So here they are! The paper we will be using for February's spread. I love that they are double-sided, that gives me lots of flexiblitly to put together the pages. Can't wait to have it done to post it!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Winter Pages 12X12 Spread for January

The entire spread, "all Bundled up for Winter"

Page 1

Page 2

This year, the ward's scrapbook goal is to complete an entire scrapbook full of 24 12X12 pages or 12 Spreads. A worthy goal, if you ask me! We are putting together pages to coincide with that month's holiday or season. We picked "Winter" for January and these are them!

The class was actually last Thursday, the 24th, and there we 8 of us and EVERYONE got their pages finished before they left! Yahoo! So happy, it was a great class and I had lots of fun and am very much looking forward to next month's class, Valentine's Day, of course!

Layouts designed by me, CJL! Photos and images copyrighted.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Custom Gift Card Tins

I love giving gift cards! I think that they truly are the perfect gift, for anyone! The thing that I hate about giving gift cards is that I don't always feel like I am giving a "true" gift. I guess the absence of wrapping paper has a physiological effect on me. That is the reason I started designing Gift Card Tins. I can design tins for any and all occasions. They are perfect for:

Bridal Showers
Baby Showers
Weddings
Birthdays
Christmas
Mother's Day
Father's Day
just about any occasion when gift cards are given!

Scrapbook Explosion Gift Boxes

Baby Boy Explosion Box

13 Photo mats, 6 with embellishments

Baby Girl Explosion Box

13 photos mats, 6 with embellishments

Disney Explosion Box

13 photo mats, 6 with embellishments

Pink and Brown explosion box

25 photo mats, 12 embellished

Love explosion box

tops of lid

13 photo mats, 6 with embellishments

A couple of years ago I saw one of these at a family baby shower. I thought it was adorable and very ingenious. Recently, I was thinking of a new project that I could work on and these boxes came to mind. I sat down with a stack of 12X12 card stock, a ruler and pencil and about 3 and 1/2 hours later, I had the pattern drawn up and perfected! So, while the idea certainly is not my original idea, I do pride myself in that I was able to design this particular pattern, which is a huge accomplishment since I am lousy at math! Ü

These boxes can be completely customized for any and all occasions!

Baby Showers
Bridal Showers
Bachlorette Parties
Valentine's Day (just the right size to hold a ring or other jewelry!)
Mother's Day
Father's Day
4th of July
Halloween
Fall / Thanksgiving
Christmas
Weddings
the possibilities are endless!

They are the perfect size (about 4" squared) to display on a desk, end table or shelf. Everyone always is so surprised when you take the lid off and and the pages fall open! Each album holds 25 photos: the pages are double-side mounted.

Can be ordered by writing me @ theavidscrapper@yahoo.com

Box: $32.00

S&H: Calculates by Zip Code

Baby Diaper Invitations/Announcements

A few months back I drew up the pattern for these. They are so adorable! They make whimsical baby shower invites, great announcements and even just really cute cards to go with your gifts! (Notice that there is enough room to add a wallet sized photo of the baby for an announcement.)

Each card is hand drawn, cut and pieced together using only the very best of materials. I used double sided patterned card stock so that each one would feel really sturdy. Each diaper is lined with coordinating papers and I have inked the edges to add dimension. Ribbons are attached and little safety pins to look like they are holding the diaper together. A little onesie hangs from a string of fiber on the front. Each one is approximately 5x5. A custom envelope is made for each card as well.

Baby Girl Announcement

The inside of the announcement, note the room for the wallet sized photo

A close-up. The tag is attached with fibers and embellished with little pink feet

The tag flips up to show the baby's information

Baby Boy Shower Invitation

The inside of the invitation

Again, the tag is attached with a string of fiber and embellished with little blue feet

You can write in the information or I can do it for an additional fee

The cards you see above are examples of ones we have made in the past. THE PAPER WE USED AT THE TIME IS NO LONGER MADE. When you order yours, you can pick the colors, however, the paper will not exactly match the examples. Also, because of supply changes, eyelets, ribbons, and safety pins will be different as well. The end result is still an adorable invite/announcement but one that is custom made just for you and cannot be found nowhere else in the world! °Ü°Each of these cards is traced, hand cut and pieced together from a pattern that we made. We also hand cut and put together the envelopes for each card as there isn't one made to fit them. They are time consuming and we have been able to put in a lot of little details that make these so adorable. In spite of their size, they take quite a bit of paper to make plus all of the embellishments. We feel like we have to justify the pricing on these but it comes down to this; you get what you pay for! We get so many compliments on these because they are an unforgettable and are very different from anything you will ever send or get for an invitation or announcement!

IMPORTANT NOTE: I should add, that because the envelopes for these are square and because they are bulky in the envelope, the fee to send each one First Class Mail is about 1$, depending. They cannot be run through a machine, each has to be "hand stamped" and because of that and their individual weight, they will cost more to send.
Each cards comes so that you fill in the information, OR we can print ALL your information for you for an additional $2.oo per set. Order in sets of 10 at $40.00 per set.
I can fill orders up to 200 if you like. I do offer a 10% discount, before shipping, on orders of 60 or more. Shipping rates vary to your address from mine. All items are shipped Priority Mail.
Each handmade card includes:
♥ Double sided decorative paper
♥ Ribbon Bows
♥ Fibers
♥ Safety Pins
♥ Cute Onesie on Hanger
♥ Inking
♥ Baby Foot Print
♥ Handmade envelope
♥ and much more!

Please allow 7 days per each 20 invitations ordered! (time is before shipping)
All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2008

UNFORTUNATELY, AT THIS TIME I AM UNABLE TO TAKE ANY CUSTOM ORDERS, INCLUDING THESE. AS I STATED, THESE ARE ENTIRELY HAND CUT AND VERY TIME CONSUMING. HOPING TO START TAKING ORDERS LATER THIS SUMMER 2012. THANK YOU Ü

Monday, October 15, 2007

Halloween Cards

A friend of mine held a craft festival and asked me to make something to bring for sale. Among all the mini albums, pages and explosion boxes that I took, I made this set of 5 Halloween cards. I have to admit, that my love for creating Halloween cards rivals my love for making just about any kind of card! It's not even my favorite holiday, but there is just something so fun about Halloween crafting that takes me back to being 10 years old and having just a pair of scissors, markers, crayons, construction paper and Scotch tape! I just love it! °Ü°

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Thank You Cards

When I taught my scrapbook class this month, I decided to teach attaching metal embellishments and distressing with ink. I wanted the project to be small so that it wouldn't be overwhelming for those new to scrapbooking, so we made this card. Now, I have to be honest, I totally procrastinated this class. We were meeting at my house at 7 pm and I designed this card at 3:30 that afternoon. I used to say that I always did work best under pressure and I guess it is true because I thought it came out pretty cute and the girls absolutely loved it! They had a lot of fun making it and a few loved using the hammer and eyelet setter... something about it being a stress reliever! Ü

Everything on the card is distressed with chestnut brown ColorBox fluid chalk ink pad. (I LOVE this ink! It is the only brand I buy for distressing) I used Marcella by K Bungalow coordinating paper. 2 tags cut with my Cricut, one for the "Thank You" on the front and one for signing your name. ( I thought that was a little different, but cute and worked) One square cut for personalizing your note, 6 inches of ribbon, 3 brads, 5 eyelets and 2 jump rings for attaching the tag to the ribbon. That's all there was to it. Of course, cutting the papers to fit but that was really simple.

I really loved they way they turned out and plan to make lots more for sending after Christmas!

A Little About Me

Hello! My name is Carla. I am a wife to a wonderful man and mother to two beautiful daughters and two adorable fur babies. I have always loved taking photos and creating a special place for them to be cherished and shared. In my childhood and teen years, it was my journals that played host to my early scrapbooks. I really started to work on my craft in 1999 and there has been no slowing down since then. Scrapbooking is very therapeutic for me and gives me a chance to express "Carla" in ways I couldn't do otherwise. This blog is where you can see a little of what I create. I hope that you are inspired by all that you see here. I welcome questions and comments, so please feel free to drop me a note on my posts, or you can contact me via email. I ♥ hearing from you! °Ü°

Understanding the Cost of Custom Work:

I get emails for custom work all the time. I would say, that on a weekly basis, I get at least 8-10 emails requesting specific themes. I love hearing from everyone and truthfully, I am honored that there are so many of you who love my designs, style of scrap booking and work so much that you would love to make it apart of their memory albums. The part I find frustrating and sometimes hurtful, is that when I reply to these emails and give pricing, one of three things happens: 1) I never hear back from the person 2) I get an email back arguing price and saying they won't pay it unless I drop the price 3) A sweet apology that they can't do it right now (this would be the rarest of the emails, however, it is the most appreciated!)

I understand that in today's economy, that scrap booking pages and albums are truly a luxury purchase. I also understand that everyone is trying to get the most for their money. Aren't we all?

Here is the side I would like you to try to understand.

I am a crafter by trade. I scrapbook for fun and I scrapbook for a living. I need to be home with my family taking care of them and our home, and this is the working relationship that works best for us and our family's needs. Although I get to be home with them, I still spend 30-40 hours a week designing, planning, cutting, hand-cutting at times, and piecing together pages, albums and projects. Pretty much a full time job. Sometimes, ALL of that time is spent on just one album. Sometimes all of that time is spent on just 4-6 pages.

When it comes to my work, I do not cut corners! I only buy the best papers, metal embellishments, adhesives and so on. I take my work seriously, I go over every detail and I know I am not the only crafter who does this. I am simply just one of many who are in this "crafter's boat", if you will. What is minimum wage these days? I honestly do not know. From what I see and know, is it about $7 per hour. Maybe I should look it up... okay, according to US Dept of Labor, the minimum wage is $6.55 hour. The average person making M.W. makes $262 for a 40 hour work week BEFORE taxes, etc. Wow. that doesn't leave a lot for the bring home amount, does it? The average spread, (2) 12X12 pages together, takes me 8-12 hours to design and put together. {There have been a handful that have taken me closer to 16. I keep track for how long it takes to make each.} So let's say I am in "The Zone" and get one done in just 8 hours and I charge $6.55 per hour. That is $52.40. That doesn't even include the materials cost for that spread, that is just my time. Keep that in mind. I actually charge a set fee of $45 for a custom spread. There is extra time and steps that go into each project, like custom names, dates and details. Now, divide $45 by 8. I am making about $5.63 an hour, and then, not even that much because that doesn't include the cost I have already paid for the materials! That is JUST my time. At the end of each custom spread, I am only making about $2-$3 per hour. (REMEMBER, that is only if it took me just the 8 hours, any longer than that and it brings my hourly wage down even more.) That is not a lot for my time, for my design and hard work when it is spelled out that way. What do you think?

Please keep these things in mind when shopping sites like Etsy.com, Ebay.com and personal websites. We crafters put our all into our craft. Each design, every piece is a part our personality and we take a lot of time to put it all together.

I think that everyone, no matter who you are and what you do, wants to have their work appreciated and they don't want others to make them feel that what they are paid for their time and talent isn't worth it. I think my time and talent is worth what little I ask for it. Remember that when you see hand crafted items, time, talent and effort was put into each project. Think about how much time it would take you to do something like that if you were to personally make it, think of professional crafting as some one's career and think about how truly little, the time making it is actually charged for.

Thank you. °Ü°