Reblog: A Beginners Guide to Scrapbook Retreats

Today I thought we might reshare this post from August 2012, where Michelle gives us her tips on packing for a retreat. If you are starting to panic about what to bring this weekend - don't! Remember to be prepared and that less can sometimes be more - there will be plenty of friendly scrappers who will loan you a punch or a stamp if you forget to pack or choose not to bring them.

See you at Retreat!
Tracey

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Today's Post is courtesy of guest blogger and beginner scrapbooker Michelle.

Thanks for giving us your unique insight into the world of Dizzy Izzy Retreats!

If you have been toying with the idea of joining us at a Retreat, make sure to read on. Hopefully we will be seeing you soon!

I recently had the privilege of attending the Scrapbooking Retreat at Stanwell Tops on Friday 25^th– Sunday 27^th May. This was my second retreat as I also attended Dizzy Izzy Scrapbooking’s first retreat in November 2011. I thought that seeing as though I have a little bit more experience with the retreats now, I can give an overview for all you beginners out there (like me!) or to those who keep thinking “I couldn’t do that!” I’m here to convince you that Dizzy Izzy Scrapbooking retreats really ARE the best way to learn the hobby!

My top 10 tips:

1.     Be prepared – make sure you pack your papers, embellishments, glues and cutting tools (i.e. scissors, paper trimmer) before the day. I made the mistake of thinking I had everything in one bag but I’d left half of my essentials at home. Fortunately at retreats, everyone is so friendly, someone always has a spare of whatever you’re after! (Thanks Tracey!)

2.     Pack smart – only pack photos, papers, embellishments, etc. that you think you will need for the weekend. Over the retreat, I completed 5 pages and a class. So I really didn’t need my heavy Martha Stewart scrapbooking box full of all the papers I’ve collected at craft fairs over the last year… I think now that my taste and themes are becoming more obvious, I know the papers that are going to work with the photos I have with me for the weekend.

3.     Try something new – Fleur, Tracey and guest demonstrators (this time, Kate, Jodie and Jen!) are a fountain of knowledge and really make an effort to introduce new ideas and techniques. I learnt to make a button embellishment out of a bottle cap, how to use washi tape, using dimensional magic (fun!) and making a decoration using a scallop punch and divine twine! These were demonstrations that literally took just 5 minutes out of my scrapping time and I learnt so much from them and applied them to some of my pages!

4.     Don’t be afraid to ask – don’t know if that ribbon will match that hideous jumper in a photo? Ask someone! Scrappers at retreats become your instant friends, especially those who share your general region of desk space. Often they’ll look at a page and say “Oooh I have a ribbon for that!” or “try this!” But they won’t know if you need help if you’re sitting there just glaring at your page…

5.     Have a sticky-beak – there are so many different styles of scrapbooking out there and at a retreat, the room is filled with inspiration – just look around you! On my way back from breaks, I’d sneak a peek at others’ works, taking notice of their layouts, colours, etc. You don’t have to copy everything, but it might just give you the bit of inspiration for a page you’ve wanted to try!

6.     Enter the challenges – the challenges give you a good focus for your pages. So it doesn’t matter how stuck you are, if you look at a challenge and commit to doing it, you’ve got half the problem sorted! I didn’t win anything this time, but people voted for my pages and I was really proud that I had a go!

7.     Stick it down! – a catch cry in retreats. Things often turn out better when you haven’t measured to the millimeter, or you can try to improvise if something doesn’t go “quite right”. Take a step back and look at your page every so often but don’t obsess over the measurement, angles or effects you’re going for. The trick is to work with the page as you do it.

8.     Participate in the games – the games are a good way to stand up, move around and take a break! It’s also a great way to get to know the scrappers around you!

9.     Visit the shop – there are so many goodies on sale in the shop! The shop is equipped with everything you could want – papers, embellishments, bling, stamps, paints, and of course, lovely assistants!

10.  Relax – it’s a retreat after all! Appreciate your surroundings and let your creativity flow! The best thing I did this time was to pack my trackies, not only because of the chillingly cold weather, but also because it helped me feel at home and comfortable.

I hope you find these tips helpful. The main thing is to enjoy yourself, have fun and learn lots! I hope to see you at the next retreat

Michelle :)

Scrapping On the Go

As soon as I saw the Amy Tangerine Travel Kit, I knew I would LOVE it.

I just needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to try it out. When my hubby dragged me along to a gaming convention called PAX in Melbourne with our friends, I knew my time had come!

Amy Tangerine Travel Kit Contents

  The Travel Kit comes complete with tools & fun things like rounded scissors, 2 types of adhesive (glue stick & runner), a self inking date stamp, needle & thread, label stickers, and a mini stapler! And it comes with a durable bag to store it in! Pretty much all you need to scrap on the go.

I knew we would be picking up lots of 'swag' (ie freebies), plus advertising, business cards, and who knows what else, so I decided to use a mini album to note down journalling, store any memorabilia we wanted to keep, and later be able to add a few photos to complete it.

My supplies - trying to be prepared for any crafty situation

I chose an Amy Tangerine Day Book from my stash, and decided to add some other supplies like alpha stickers, some stamps, a 6x6 paper pack, tags and of course some washi tape (which came in handy - see below) to add to my travel kit. Everything here except the day book fitted neatly into the bag, which took up hardly any room in the suitcase.

PAX was pretty crowded, but there was certainly lots of opportunities to collect swag and create memories. It was fun following Matt around, picking up fliers and freebies relating to the games we tried out. The stands that gave away flair badges were particularly popular, though I doubt others were grabbing them because 'flairs are so hot right now'.

On the last day of the convention, while Matt and our friends played some board games, I started to create my album. It was fun scrapping in an unusual environment. Very different to being at home or at a Crafternoon. I was glad I prepared by bringing some papers and extra items, and it pushed me to create differently, but I can recommend it especially if you are away on family holidays or travelling and want to get a little bit crafty.

Multitasking - Scrapping & playing Alhambra

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one scrapbooking!

Oh, and the washi tape? Came in handy when someone tried to steal our number plate and we needed a quick fix to keep it attached until we could get it repaired.

Is there nothing this awesome product can't handle?

Happy Scrapping!

Tracey* xox

De-constructing Project Life!

Its been hard not to miss all of the hype surrounding project life especially in the lead-up to its release for general retailers in Oz. For the past little while it was mainly a phenomenon in the USA and for those of you who follow some of the celebrity scrapbookers such as Amy Tangerine or Ali Edwards I am sure that you have seen some stellar examples of their take on Project Life.


So what is Project Life? - Lets go through the concept just to make sure we are all clear!!!!

Project Life has been designed by Becky Higgins as a way to simplify the scrapbooking process. Becky's view is that she has taken the hard work out of scrapbooking by designing all the ""bits" (including the layout of your page).  It is meant to be a back to basics approach for the complete novice or scrapbook guru where you can display your photos with as little or as much detail. The way that you may see many scrappers using the system is via a week at a time approach, however it is pretty easy to adapt this system in any way you see fit.

Ok - so I've been hanging out to try this system simply because I've had a project in mind. I want to record the journey of our house as it changes through the years. I've been taking photos as we do various bits and pieces around the place. So here comes the challenge for me. Simplifying things is not my forte and I'm a more is less kinda gal but I'll see how I go. I'm also not so great with ongoing projects but hopefully I can stick with this and make it work with my hectic schedule.

For my Project Life I am using the Becky Higgins Kraft  core kit, the big variety pack #1 of page protectors and a D ring album.

Ok so with a glass of red in reaching distance - I'm all set to go!!!! Let's crack the kraft kit!!!

Ok - inside the core kit you have 616 cards in a combination of 4 x 6, 3 x 4 sizes. Some cards have been specifically designed to be first page or last page cards while others show suggested layout placement.

Inside the page protectors box you get 60 page protectors in 6 different styles so 10 of each.

So now the assembly begins! Let's see how easy this really is!!!

So with the assistance of a kind helper (a.k.a hubby dearest) it appears that this process may work in terms of my poor time management. My downfall will be keeping up with the journalling - but perhaps that's a good on the train job?

So here is my first completed page - with some embellishment.  I just couldn't help myself!! I made the disclaimer earlier I am a more is less kinda girl!

Tracey has recently added all our our Project Life products to our webstore http://www.dizzyizzyscrapbooking.com.au/ .

I'm interested to hear your project life journey's - how are you using it to suit your lifestyle? Please comment in the links below, tag us in pics via facebook (dizzy izzy scrapbooking) or send photos to dizzyizzy@y7mail.com

Happy Project Lifing!

Fleur x

Adventures in SE Asia Travel Album Pt 2: Cambodia

I loved my time in Cambodia, not only for its historical sites but also for the beautiful people we met along the way. I think that my photos tell the story here!

I tried to use kraft cardstock as my primary base, I then
grunged it up using a textured stamp.

Using ephemera such as a map helps to tell the story
of your adventure.

This is hubby's favourite layout.
 I really tried to simplify my layout style for this album,
by using simple sketches and minimal embellishments.

These papers by Bo Bunny are so beautiful - I really didn't
need to add much to them to get the effect I wanted.

Fleur x

Adventures in SE Asia Travel Album Pt 1: Vietnam

Well my Adventures in SE Asia travel album is finally done!I am really excited that I have finished a project just for me and it has only taken me about three months of grabbing an hour here and there. Not bad since I had about 3000 photos to choose from and have now ended up with a 64 page album that I feel really captures our trip. My last travel album took me over to 2 years to complete - we won't even talk about how long the first one took me!

For those of you who know me I am a 'more is less' kinda gal who loves to add as many embelli's as possible and jus' up a page - however for this album I really tried to simplify my process. Firstly I've integrated a lot of photos by using the very versatile WRMK page protectors. I have also tried to stick to just two paper lines - Bo Bunny's Serenity and Serenade which both had Asian influences.

Today I've shared a few pages from the Vietnam component of my trip. I'll be sharing more in coming posts.

I love scrapping ephemera - these were some prints
I picked up at the Ben Thanh market.